Schindler v. Austwell Farmers Cooperative

829 S.W.2d 283, 1992 WL 41357
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 7, 1992
Docket13-91-085-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 829 S.W.2d 283 (Schindler v. Austwell Farmers Cooperative) 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
Schindler v. Austwell Farmers Cooperative, 829 S.W.2d 283, 1992 WL 41357 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinions

OPINION

FEDERICO G. HINOJOSA, Jr., Justice.

Charles J. Schindler, II, appeals from a judgment entered in favor of Austwell Farmers Cooperative for actual damages arising from breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation in the amount of $65,722.11, exemplary damages in the amount of $10,000.00, and attorney’s fees. Appellant raises 16 points of error, complaining that the evidence did not establish fraud, that the trial court should have required appellee to elect between remedies, and that the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for continuance. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Appellant is a cotton and grain farmer who, on March 10, 1987, executed an account agreement with appellee, a supplier of agricultural products. Between May 1989 and August 1989, appellant purchased over $193,000.00 worth of products from appellee on credit. Appellant made three payments to appellee, the last one on July 6, 1989, and returned many products for credit to his account. Appellant’s account included purchases made by his father, Charles Schindler, I, and his cousin, Rodney Johnson. The balance of appellant’s account is a debt of $65,722.11.

On May 8, 1989, appellant brought his account current, paying with three separate checks, drawn on three separate checking accounts. The checking accounts were in the names of “Charles J. Schindler II Farms,” “Futuro Farms, Inc.” and “Rodney Johnson Farms.” Futuro Farms, Inc. is a corporation wholly owned by appellant, that was incorporated in 1986, had its charter forfeited on January 18, 1988, and had it reinstated on January 18, 1990. Neither Futuro Farms nor Rodney Johnson Farms had accounts with Austwell, and the three checks went to pay the entire amount that appellant owed Austwell on his personal account. Appellant contended that on May 8, 1989, immediately after he brought his account current, he told Austwell’s manager that his account had to be separated from the accounts of his father, his cousin, and his corporation, and that from then on, all goods had to be charged to the actual purchaser. Appellee contended that no such discussion had occurred, that appellant had merely represented that he was paying according to his personal bookkeeping system, and that appellant had never disputed or rescinded his father’s and cousin’s authority to make purchases on his behalf.

During the summer of 1989, appellant, his father and his cousin procured over $193,000.00 worth of goods on appellant’s account. Appellant made three payments on his account, using the three-check system, and returned large amounts of the purchased goods for credit. On August 4, 1989, appellant requested from appellee that certain defoliants be charged to his account. Appellee allowed the purchase despite an outstanding balance of $90,-000.00 on appellant’s account, because appellant acknowledged the debt and assured appellee that it would be paid in full. Appellant offered no evidence to dispute this transaction. This purchase, together with subsequent purchases, totalled $40,698.53.

Appellant and appellee next discussed the outstanding balance in late September or early October, 1989, at which time appel-lee released a large amount of grain appellant stored at the Co-op. Appellee contends that the grain release was induced by appellant’s promise to pay his debt in full. Appellant contends that appellee had no right to withhold the grain, that the grain did not belong to him at the time it was [286]*286released, and that appellee suffered no injury by releasing the grain, other than a possible offset against the sued-for account.

After appellee unsuccessfully attempted to collect the debt on appellant’s account, it filed this lawsuit. Appellee pleaded loss on a sworn account, and upon appellant’s denial of the account, appellee pleaded breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and conspiracy to defraud. The jury found that appellant had executed the account agreement, that he had knowingly and fraudulently obtained the goods that were charged to his account, and that he owed $65,722.11 on the account.

By his fifth point of error, appellant complains that the trial court erroneously entered judgment based on fraud when the appellee suffered injury only under the contract.

As a general rule, failure to perform the terms of a contract yields contract liability, not tort liability. See International Printing Pressmen & Assistants’ Union v. Smith, 145 Tex. 399, 198 S.W.2d 729, 735-36 (1946). However, a contract to perform in the future is actionable fraud when it is made with the intention, design and purpose of deceiving, and with no intention of performing. Spoljaric v. Percival Tours, Inc., 708 S.W.2d 432, 434 (Tex.1986). A party’s failure to perform the contract, standing alone, is no evidence of that party’s intent not to perform at the time the contract was made. Crim Truck & Tractor Co. v. Navistar Int’l Transp. Corp., 823 S.W.2d 591, 596 (1992); Spoljaric, 708 S.W.2d at 435. Failure to perform is a circumstance to be considered with other facts to establish intent to defraud. Since intent to defraud is not susceptible to direct proof, it invariably must be proven by circumstantial evidence. “Slight circumstantial evidence” of fraud, when considered with the breach of promise to perform, is sufficient to support a finding of fraudulent intent. Spoljaric, 708 S.W.2d at 435.

Austwell pleaded and the jury found that appellant had knowingly and fraudulently obtained the goods that were charged to his account. If there is sufficient evidence to support the jury’s answer to Question No. 5 that appellant committed fraud, then the judgment based on fraud is sound.

By his third point of error, appellant complains that there is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support a finding of fraud. When we consider a legal sufficiency or no evidence point, we examine the record for evidence supporting the finding and ignore all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Davis v. City of San Antonio, 752 S.W.2d 518, 522 (Tex.1988). When we consider a factual sufficiency point of error, we examine all the evidence to determine if the finding is so contrary to the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence that it is clearly wrong. Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex.1986); Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. v. Tucker, 806 S.W.2d 914, 926 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1991, writ dism’d w.o.j.); Reviea v. Marine Drilling Co., 800 S.W.2d 252, 254 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1990, writ denied). We may reverse if the great weight of the evidence mandates an opposite determination, and then we will show why the determination was so contrary to the evidence to be clearly wrong. Herbert v. Herbert, 754 S.W.2d 141, 144 (Tex.1988); Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc., 806 S.W.2d at 926.

We have carefully reviewed the entire record. The record includes the Co-op manager’s testimony that appellant, prior to purchasing additional goods, acknowledged his debts and promised to pay them in full. Relying on that promise, Austwell allowed appellant to purchase additional goods.

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Bluebook (online)
829 S.W.2d 283, 1992 WL 41357, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schindler-v-austwell-farmers-cooperative-texapp-1992.