SSOE, Inc. v. Tokio Marine Am. Ins. Co.

567 S.W.3d 809
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 27, 2018
DocketNo. 04-18-00526-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 567 S.W.3d 809 (SSOE, Inc. v. Tokio Marine Am. Ins. Co.) 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
SSOE, Inc. v. Tokio Marine Am. Ins. Co., 567 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

Opinion by: Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice

This case stems from a motion to dismiss pursuant to Chapter 150 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Appellant SSOE, Inc. contends Appellees Tokio Marine America Insurance Co. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. of America, as subrogees of Toyota Motor North America, Inc., and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc. failed to file the required sworn "certificate of merit affidavit" with their original petition wherein the damages arose from "professional services by a licensed or registered professional." See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 150.002(a). The trial court denied Appellant's motion to dismiss based on the exclusion contained in subsection 150.002(c). See id. § 150.002(c).

We conclude subsection 150.002(c) is triggered when: (1) the original petition is filed within ten days of the expiration of the statute of limitations; and (2) the plaintiff alleges in the original petition that because of time constraints associated with the statute of limitations, the certificate of merit affidavit was not contemporaneously filed with the original petition. See id. Therefore, we reverse the trial court's order and remand this cause to the trial court to determine whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice to refiling. See id. § 150.002(e) ; see also Pedernal Energy, LLC v. Bruington Eng'g, Ltd. , 536 S.W.3d 487, 494-95 (Tex. 2017).

*811FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 11, 2018, Appellees sued SSOE, Inc., a professional engineering firm, and Fred Christen & Sons for breach of contract and negligence; Appellees further alleged SSOE failed to properly design the facility's roof.

Appellees filed their Original Petition for Damages within ten days of the statute of limitations' expiration. In that Original Petition, Appellees alleged that part of SSOE's design included auxiliary drains intended to provide necessary drainage; the drains were allegedly two inches higher than the applicable government standards. Chapter 150 specifically requires that a claim for damages, arising out of the provision of professional services by a licensed or registered professional, be supported by a certificate of merit filed contemporaneously with the original petition. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 150.002. Appellees' Original Petition did not contain a certificate of merit affidavit or any reference to expert reports.

On June 15, 2018, Appellant SSOE moved to dismiss Appellees' claims for failure to comply with section 150.002 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. See id. § 150.002(a).

On June 21, 2018, Appellees filed a response to Appellant's motion to dismiss. In that response, Appellees asserted the petition was filed within ten days of the expiration of the statute of limitations. In that same response, Appellees, for the first time, asserted that the certificate of merit affidavit was not filed with their original petition because of "a combination clerical oversight based on the looming statute of limitations." Appellees then argued that pursuant to subsection 150.002(c), the matter was within the trial court's discretion to allow for the filing of an amended petition with the certificate of merit affidavit. See id. § 150.002(c). Alternatively, Appellees requested the trial court dismiss the case without prejudice. See id. § 150.002(e).

On July 10, 2018, after hearing arguments of counsel, the trial court denied Appellant's motion to dismiss pursuant to subsection 150.002(a). Id. § 150.002(a).

CERTIFICATE OF MERIT AFFIDAVIT

A. Arguments of the Parties

Appellees contend the spirit of section 150.002 and the legislative intent "is to bring balance to the civil justice system and to prevent frivolous lawsuits" and a clerical error should not prevent the trial court from acting within its discretion to deny the motion to dismiss. See generally id. § 150.002.

Appellant counters that subsection 150.002(c) requires Appellees to allege, in their original petition, an inability to prepare the required affidavit due to time constraints associated with the statute of limitations. See id. § 150.002(c). Appellants further explain that subsection 150.002(c) does not allow for an exception to the contemporaneous filing requirement when an excuse was raised in response to its motion to dismiss, as Appellees had done, and not when the excuse is based on alleged clerical errors. See id.

B. Standard of Review

An appellate court reviews a trial court's order denying a motion to dismiss pursuant to section 150.002 for abuse of discretion. See TIC N. Cent. Dall. 3, L.L.C. v. Envirobusiness, Inc. , 463 S.W.3d 71, 76 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2014, pet. denied) ; CBM Eng'rs, Inc. v. Tellepsen Builders, L.P. , 403 S.W.3d 339, 342-43 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2013, pet. denied). "A trial court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily or unreasonably, without reference to any guiding rules and principles."

*812CBM Eng'rs , 403 S.W.3d at 342 ; accord Sharp Eng'g v. Luis , 321 S.W.3d 748, 752 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.) ; see Downer v. Aquamarine Operators, Inc. , 701 S.W.2d 238, 241-42 (Tex. 1985).

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Bluebook (online)
567 S.W.3d 809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ssoe-inc-v-tokio-marine-am-ins-co-texapp-2018.