Scharer v. John's Cars, Inc.

776 S.W.2d 228, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1969, 1989 WL 70197
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 2, 1989
Docket08-89-00117-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 776 S.W.2d 228 (Scharer v. John's Cars, Inc.) 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
Scharer v. John's Cars, Inc., 776 S.W.2d 228, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1969, 1989 WL 70197 (Tex. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinions

OPINION

FULLER, Justice.

The trial court disregarded certain answers of the jury and entered judgment for Appellee, John’s Cars, Inc. We reverse and render judgment.

This case involves the restoration of an old Jaguar automobile and the attempt by the restorer to collect $10,607.70 from the owner for work, done. The trial court submitted some twenty-eight general issues to the jury, and the jury made a decision, only to have the trial court disregard certain answers and enter judgment for the Appel-lee.

Appellant in his brief has honored us with FORTY-EIGHT (48) points of error which fail to comply with Tex.R.App.P. 74(d). After stating the forty-eight points of error, the Appellant proceeded to mix-match, comingle and generally discuss the forty-eight points of error without citing pages of the statement of facts, referring to evidence that would support Appellant’s position. Strangely, Appellant only desires, as shown by his prayer for relief, that this Court reverse and render a decision and makes no request for a reversal and a new trial. Only because it would result in the continued delay of disposition of this appeal, this Court is unwilling to order re-briefing.

FACTS

The Appellant, Mark R. Scharer, bought from Appellee a 1974 Jaguar. It was pea green color with a like green interior. In fact, this car consisted primarily of the mere appearance of a Jaguar with no motor or transmission. Appellant also bought from Appellee a conversion kit to enable an American made engine and transmission to be installed. Appellant had the motor and transmission installed elsewhere, but then brought the car back to Appellee for interi- or work, rear-end overhaul and suspension work, as well as, body and paint work. Appellant presented Appellee with a list of over sixty items that he wanted Appellee John’s Cars to do. The parties then entered into an agreement for the restoration according to the items on Appellant’s list. This agreement occurred sometime in September 1985. The rear-end overhaul and suspension work was done first for which Appellant paid $4,280.00. This work and the amount paid is not in dispute in this lawsuit. The balance of the work was done and the car declared “ready” in April 1986. Appellee John’s Cars presented Appellant with a bill representing the unpaid balance due of $10,607.70. Appellant gave Appel-lee a check for $6,838.89 and signed a note for $3,768.81 (payable at $471.10 per month for eight months). He took the car but returned shortly, blaming Appellee John’s Cars for a crack found in the engine block. [230]*230Appellant, however, left with the car and thereafter “stopped payment” on the $6,838.89 check he had given to John’s Cars. Appellant also refused to make any payments on the note given John’s Cars. He did, through his attorney, attempt to settle the controversy by mailing a check in the amount of $5,434.00 payable to John’s Cars. His attorney also enclosed a release for John’s Cars to execute. The parties dispute whether the check was received, but it was never cashed. The whereabouts of the check at the time of trial was never disclosed. Regardless, there was no settlement, and this suit was instituted December 8, 1986, by Appellee John’s Cars, Inc., asserting a cause of action based on (1) breach of contract, (2) quantum meruit, (3) suit on open account, (4) suit on a note, and (5) seeking attorney’s fees. It therefore claimed that it was due $10,607.70 under the parties’ agreement, regardless of the theory. Appellant contested the terms of the agreement, the amount owed, the quality of the work done and the alleged violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The case was tried before a jury, and a verdict was returned on December 4, 1987. Each side sought a money judgment by filing motions to disregard certain jury findings. The trial court disregarded those jury answers urged by the Appellee, but did not go along with the damage figure requested by Appellee. The judgment was signed on April 15, 1988. We will turn to Point of Error No. Three, which we believe is dispositive of this appeal.

By Point of Error No. Three, the Appellant is attempting to assert that the trial court erred in disregarding the jury’s answer of “None” to the Appellee’s damage issue under the breach of contract action.

(1) Under Appellee’s contract theory, the jury found that the parties entered into a contract and that Appellant, Mark Scharer, materially breached the contract. However, the jury found that Appellee John’s Cars did not suffer any damages as a result of the breach of contract.

(2) Under Appellee’s quantum meruit theory, the jury found that the Appellee had performed services that conferred a benefit which was accepted by Appellant, Mark Scharer. The jury then found that Appellee, John’s Cars, was entitled to compensation from Appellant for those benefits conferred in the amount of ‘‘$5,820 less Mark Scharer’s check #1175 dated i/28/86.” [Emphasis added].

The check the jury referred to in the above answer was sent by Appellant as an offer of settlement, but at time of trial the check had never been cashed and both sides denied knowledge of where the check was.

On motion of Appellee, the trial court disregarded the “None” answer of the jury to the damage issue under the breach of contract theory and entered judgment for damages of $5,820.00 (which just happens to be the amount the jury awarded under the quantum meruit theory). To uphold this, disregarding the jury finding of “None”, the Appellee concedes that the trial judge had to make this finding of $5,820.00 damages as a matter of law. The Appellee did not assert that his was the proper damage figure in its motion for judgment and motion to disregard jury findings. Appellee was urging, as a matter of law, that the trial court should enter judgment on its breach of contract claim for $10,607.70. In the alternative, the Ap-pellee asked the trial court to enter judgment, as found by the jury, in the amount of $5,820.00 on its claim for quantum meru-it.

DID THE TRIAL COURT HAVE THE POWER TO DISREGARD THE FINDING OF NO DAMAGES BY THE JURY AS TO THE BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION?

Tex.R.Civ.P. 301 states in part:

[U]pon motion and reasonable notice the court may render judgment non obstante veredicto if a directed verdict would have been proper, and provided further that the court may, upon like motion and notice, disregard any jury finding on a question that has no support in the evidence.

Where special issues have support in the evidence, the trial judge may not render a judgment n.o.v., even though the great weight and preponderance of the [231]*231evidence might be to the contrary. Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company v. Deen, 312 S.W.2d 933 (Tex.1958), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 874, 79 S.Ct. 111, 3 L.Ed.2d 105 (1958). In determining a no evidence point, all testimony must be considered in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is sought and every reasonable intendment deductible from the evidence is to be indulged in such party’s favor. Leyva v. Pacheco, 358 S.W.2d 547, 550 (Tex.1962).

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Scharer v. John's Cars, Inc.
776 S.W.2d 228 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
776 S.W.2d 228, 1989 Tex. App. LEXIS 1969, 1989 WL 70197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scharer-v-johns-cars-inc-texapp-1989.