RSL Funding, LLC v. Aegon Structured Settlements, Inc. and Monumental Life Insurance Company

384 S.W.3d 405, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4724, 2012 WL 2146789
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 14, 2012
Docket11-10-00281-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 384 S.W.3d 405 (RSL Funding, LLC v. Aegon Structured Settlements, Inc. and Monumental Life Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
RSL Funding, LLC v. Aegon Structured Settlements, Inc. and Monumental Life Insurance Company, 384 S.W.3d 405, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4724, 2012 WL 2146789 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

OPINION

ERIC KALENAK, Justice.

Among other things, the trial court awarded attorney’s fees to Aegon Structured Settlements, Inc. and Monumental Life Insurance Company against RSL Funding, LLC in this lawsuit brought by RSL under the Structured Settlement Protection Act.1 We affirm.

Michael Todd Reese settled a lawsuit that he had filed to recover for personal injuries. As a part of that settlement agreement, he was to receive a series of payments over a period of time. These payments were funded through an annuity purchased by Aegon’s predecessors from Monumental’s predecessors.

Reese wanted to receive a portion of the payments early. He entered into an agreement with RSL whereby RSL would purchase portions of two future lump sum payments and pay a certain amount to Reese in exchange for his assignment to RSL of the interests purchased.

In accordance with the Texas Structured Settlement Protection Act, RSL filed an application in the trial court for approval of the transfer. In its application for approval, RSL listed the estate of Michael Todd Reese as the beneficiary.

Before the hearing on RSL’s application, Aegon and Monumental notified RSL that the beneficiary listed in the application was incorrect and that the actual beneficiary of the annuity was Reese’s daughter, Madison Reese. RSL filed an amended application and rescheduled the hearing. Although it continued to plead that Reese’s estate was the beneficiary of the annuity, RSL gave notice of the new hearing to Lacy Chesser as next friend of Madison Reese. Chesser and Reese were divorced. In a later suit to modify the parent-child relationship, the trial court appointed Chesser as the joint managing conservator with the right to establish Madison’s primary residence. The order listed Ches-ser’s address as 1625 Sunset, Apartment 3004, San Angelo. This address had not been changed by Chesser as required in the court order. RSL sent the notice to Chesser at P.O. Box 62142 in San Angelo. Aegon and Monumental informed RSL of the perceived defect in the notice provided to Chesser. The trial court continued the hearing so that RSL might provide proper notice to Chesser at several addresses.

Before the trial court conducted the second rescheduled hearing on RSL’s application, Aegon and Monumental filed a motion for attorney’s fees and expenses. Aegon and Monumental had also complained that RSL had sought, in a manner not in accordance with statutory procedures, a trans[408]*408fer of a right of first refusal as well as a security interest in the remainder of Reese’s structured settlement. Later, RSL agreed not to seek those rights. After the trial court conducted the hearing, it entered two orders. In one order, the trial court approved the transfer to RSL. In the- other order, the trial court awarded attorney’s fees and expenses to Aegon and Monumental in the amount of $6,825 and $1,164.92, respectively. The trial court later corrected its order to cite the correct statute under which it awarded attorney’s fees and expenses.

The only issue before this court in this appeal involves the award of attorney’s fees and expenses. In a single issue, RSL maintains that the trial court abused its discretion when it awarded attorney’s fees and expenses because it awarded them under an inapplicable statute, because it should not award attorney’s fees connected to objections to RSL’s claim to a right of first refusal and to a security interest, and because it should not award them connected to objections to improper notice.

The trial court did not state in its order the reasons for its award of attorney’s fees and expenses except to refer to the statute under which they were awarded. The trial court did not enter findings of fact or conclusions of law, and none were requested. Therefore, the trial court’s award will be upheld on any theory that finds support in the evidence. See Rush v. Barrios, 56 S.W.3d 88, 96 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2001, pet. denied) (if trial court files no findings of fact or conclusions of law, all findings necessary to the court’s judgment, if supported by the record, will be implied). Further, RSL did not object to any failure to segregate what fees were charged for what services, and that issue is not before us.

The Structured Settlement Protection Act is found in the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Tex. Civ. Prag. & Rem.Code Ann. §§ 141.001-.007- (West 2011). The legislature enacted it to protect litigants who have received structured settlements in personal injury cases from transferring their rights to future periodic payments from those settlements for a lump sum that is inadequate. Rapid Settlements, Ltd. v. Symetra Life Ins. Co., 234 S.W.3d 788, 798 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2007, no pet.). Under the provisions of the SSPA, a party who acquires or proposes to acquire structured settlement payment rights from the payee must give notice to the payee that contains detailed information, among other things, regarding the amounts of the payments to be transferred from the payee, the discounted present value of those payments, the gross amount to be paid to the payee, the expenses to be deducted from the gross amount, and the net amount the payee is to receive. Section 141.003.

Before a transfer is effective, it must be approved in advance in a final court order. Section 141.004. The transferee must serve notice of the hearing upon all interested parties. Section 141.006. Notice of the hearing on the application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights must contain certain items, and the transferee must serve the notice at least twenty days before the date of the hearing.

In the trial court, Aegon argued that it was entitled to attorney’s fees under the SSPA for two reasons: (1) it incurred extra time and expense in responding to RSL’s application for transfer because RSL failed to include information on the security interest and right of first refusal of future transfers in its required disclosure to the payee as required under the statute, see Section 141.003, and (2) RSL’s failure to properly notify the beneficiary necessitated additional hearings and [409]*409brought about further time and expense connected to the application to approve the transfer.

The standard of review of a trial court’s award of attorney’s fees is abuse of discretion. Travelers Indem. Co. of Conn. v. Mayfield, 923 S.W.2d 590, 592 (Tex.1996). Attorney’s fees may not be recovered from an opposing party unless provided for by statute or contract between the parties. Id. at 593.

Under the SSPA, trial courts have the authority to award reasonable costs and attorney’s fees against the transferee in favor of a structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer that arise “as a consequence of the transferee’s failure to comply with this chapter.” Section 141.005(2)(B).

RSL advances a number of arguments in support of its contention that the trial court abused its discretion when it awarded attorney’s fees.

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Bluebook (online)
384 S.W.3d 405, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4724, 2012 WL 2146789, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rsl-funding-llc-v-aegon-structured-settlements-inc-and-monumental-life-texapp-2012.