Springer v. First National Bank of Plainview, Texas

866 S.W.2d 626, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 3325, 1992 WL 549005
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 16, 1992
DocketNos. 07-91-0273-CV, 07-91-0274-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 866 S.W.2d 626 (Springer v. First National Bank of Plainview, Texas) 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
Springer v. First National Bank of Plainview, Texas, 866 S.W.2d 626, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 3325, 1992 WL 549005 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinions

REYNOLDS, Chief Justice.

Leslie Springer and the George Oliver Jackson Estate perfected these companion appeals from summary judgments rendered in their severed actions against First National Bank of Plainview, Texas; Cowles Liipfert, Trustee for the Francis Adair Jones Trust; and Louis Spruiell, decreeing that they take nothing and their causes be dismissed. We do not reach the merits of the appeals, because we must dismiss them for want of jurisdiction inasmuch as the judgments are interlocutory and unappealable.

Leslie Springer leased the East one-half of Section 87, Block A-4 of the EL & RR, RR Co. Survey, Hale County, from the George Oliver Jackson Estate. Springer planted cotton on the land and the crop was growing in November of 1990.

Louis Spruiell owns the Southwest one-fourth of Section 87, Block A-4 of the EL & RR, RR Co. Survey, Hale County. The Francis Adair Jones Trust owns Section 83, Block A-4 of the EL & RR, RR Co. Survey, Hale County, which is situated adjacent to both the Spruiell property and the Jackson Estate’s land, and abuts the Estate’s land on the west. Cowles Liipfert, as trustee for the Jones Trust, engaged First National Bank of Plainview, Texas to manage the Trust farm. Both Spruiell and the Jones Trust had contracted to place their lands in the Environmental Conservation Reserve Program, commonly referred to as CRP.1 Unplanted to [628]*628crops, these lands became overgrown by-weeds.

On or about 26 November 1990, a strong southwesterly wind blew weeds from the Spruiell and Jones Trust lands onto Springer’s leased acreage. As the weeds rolled across the Springer acreage, they pulled cotton from the locks of the bolls and lodged between the cotton stalks, severely damaging Springer’s cotton crop and making harvest of the remaining cotton more difficult.

Alleging negligent maintenance of the neighboring farms was the cause of damage to the cotton crop, Springer and the Jackson Estate brought suit against the Bank, Liip-fert as trustee for the Trust, and Spruiell. The negligence action, docketed as cause no. B25705-9104, was premised upon a duty to control weed growth and prevent the spread of the weeds from causing damage to neighboring farms.

Spruiell responded to the suit with special exceptions, a general and a special denial. His special exceptions were grounded on the contentions that the Springer-Jackson Estate petition failed to state a cause of action, and that there was no legal duty obligating him to control or prevent the growth and spread by wind of naturally occurring weeds.

On 24 April 1991,2 Spruiell filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground that, as a matter of law, he had no legal duty to take measures to control or prevent the growth and spread of naturally occurring weeds. Hearing on the motion was set for May 20.

In the interim before the hearing, on April 29, the Bank filed its answer, specially excepting to the Springer-Jackson Estate petition for its failure to state a cause of action, and generally denying the allegations in the petition. On May 2, the Jones Trust filed a similar answer.

On May 13, seven days before the hearing on Spruiell’s motion for summary judgment, the Springer-Jackson Estate response to the motion was filed. By the response, the court was presented with the contentions that Spruiell’s averments were legal conclusions which should be ignored by the court, and that material issues of fact existed to preclude the summary judgment. The fact issues were, in essence, whether Spruiell made a reasonable use of his property and whether the harm done by the weeds was foreseeable to the extent of creating a duty to protect against it.

Although the parties seem to agree that the court orally granted Spruiell’s motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment accordingly at the hearing on May 20, there is no written order in the record evincing that action. However, on May 22, Springer and the Jackson Estate filed a motion for rehearing on the summary judgment motion, submitting that Spruiell had misrepresented the holding of the case upon which the court based its decision, Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Oakes, 94 Tex. 155, 58 S.W. 999 (1900). Hearing of the motion, characterized by the court as a “Motion for Rehearing in the Summary Judgment,” was set for July 1.

Two days later, on May 24, the Jones Trust moved for summary judgment contending that, as a matter of law, there was no legal duty to control or prevent the natural growth of weeds on the farm, nor to control the natural spreading of weeds. The hearing of this motion was set for July 5.

On June 27, before the scheduled rehearing and hearing of the motions for summary judgment, the Springer-Jackson Estate’s original petition was amended. The amended petition not only contained the allegations comprising the originally pleaded cause of action for negligence, but had added allegations of causes of action based on Spruiell’s, the Jones Trust’s and the Bank’s (1) gross negligence in maintaining their respective farms; (2) their creation of a private nuisance, which interfered with the use and enjoyment of the Springer-Jackson Estate farm; (3) negligence per se; and (4) trespass by the dissemination of weeds onto the Springer-Jackson Estate farm.

On June 28, less than seven days prior to the July 1 rehearing date and seven days before the July 5 hearing date, Springer and the Jackson Estate filed amended responses [629]*629to Spruiell’s and the Jones Trust’s motions for summary judgment. By their amended responses, they urged that the summary judgment affidavits, stating the growth of the weeds and the dissemination thereof were natural occurrences, were mere legal conclusions and should be ignored. Then they contended that genuine issues of material fact existed precluding summary judgment, particularly whether the foreseeability of a risk of harm created a duty to prevent that harm.

On the day set for hearing the motion for rehearing, July 1, Spruiell filed his opposition to the motion, replying that the case of Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Oakes, relied upon by the court in granting the motion for summary judgment, supported the granting of the summary judgment. Spruiell did not address the new causes of action alleged in the Springer-Jackson Estate amended petition.

On the same day, July 1, the court, reciting a hearing on May 20 of Spruiell’s motion for summary judgment without mentioning any action then taken, signed a designated order, decreeing that

LOUIS SPRUIELL’S Motion for Summary Judgment against [Springer and the Jackson Estate] be, and hereby is, GRANTED, and that summary judgment be entered in favor of [Spruiell] and that [Springer and the Jackson Estate] have and recover nothing against [Spruiell] by their suit and that this cause is dismissed as to the Defendant, LOUIS SPRUIELL, at [Springer’s and the Jackson Estate’s] cost.

Four days later, on July 5, the court signed an identical order, except for the approval of the order as to form by the attorneys representing the parties.

At the same time, the court granted Spru-iell’s motion for severance, and ordered that the claims and causes of action asserted by Springer and the Jackson Estate were severed from the claims and causes of action asserted against the other defendants. The Springer-Jackson Estate causes of action asserted against the Jones Trust and the Bank were assigned cause no.

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Related

Springer v. Spruiell
866 S.W.2d 592 (Texas Supreme Court, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
866 S.W.2d 626, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 3325, 1992 WL 549005, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/springer-v-first-national-bank-of-plainview-texas-texapp-1992.