Sullivan v. Bickel & Brewer

943 S.W.2d 477, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 3322, 1995 WL 790826
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 28, 1995
Docket05-94-01822-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by129 cases

This text of 943 S.W.2d 477 (Sullivan v. Bickel & Brewer) 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
Sullivan v. Bickel & Brewer, 943 S.W.2d 477, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 3322, 1995 WL 790826 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

DEVANY, Justice.

John R. Sullivan (appellant) appeals a summary judgment entered in favor of Bickel & Brewer and William Brewer (appellees). In fourteen points of error, appellant contends the trial court erred in: (1) granting summary judgment in favor of appellees; (2) granting appellees’ motion to compel; (3) entering sanctions against appellant; (4) prohibiting appellant from testifying at the hearing on his motion for reconsideration; (5) denying appellant’s motion for continuance; (6) excluding appellant’s summary judgment evidence; (7) refusing to record the summary judgment hearing; and (8) denying appellant’s motion for new trial. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

FACTS

Appellant was involved in many business ventures involving real estate. When the real estate market took a downward ton, he began to experience difficulty meeting his creditors’ demands. In 1986, on behalf of himself and entities he controlled, appellant hired appellees to provide legal representation in several cases involving outstanding indebtedness to several lending institutions. Appellant fired appellees in June 1990, after paying them over $5 million in legal fees.

On October 8, 1993, appellant filed suit against appellees alleging breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. On January 7, 1994, the parties signed a written agreement scheduling discovery dates. Because appellant did not follow the agreement, appellees filed a motion to compel which the trial court granted. *480 Because appellant did not comply with that order, appellees filed two motions for sanctions. The court also granted those motions. The court found that appellant did not make a good faith effort to produce documents, his interrogatory responses were intentionally incomplete, and, to avoid discovery, he filed motions to disqualify appellees’ counsel and to extend discovery deadlines. As a sanction for discovery abuse, the tidal court refused to allow appellant to introduce into evidence any documents that he previously failed to produce.

Appellees moved for summary judgment on the basis of limitations, arguing that all of appellant’s claims were actually legal malpractice claims and therefore governed and barred by the two-year statute of limitations. Alternatively, appellees argued that any claims which may be governed by the four-year statute are also barred because they were based on events occurring and known to appellant more than four years before he sued. In his response, appellant addressed only his fraud claim, arguing that appellees did not meet their summary judgment burden to show it is barred by limitations. On the day of the hearing, appellant attempted to offer his affidavit as summary judgment evidence. However, the trial court sustained appellees’ objection to the affidavit and denied appellant’s motion for leave to file. The trial court granted appellees’ motion for summary judgment.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A. The Parties’ Contentions

In his first point of error, appellant contends the trial court erred in granting appel-lees’ motion for summary judgment on his fraud claim. 1 He asserts that his petition alleged fraudulent billing practices by appel-lees, as well as legal malpractice. He argues that the four-year statute of limitations applies to his fraud claim, he raised the discovery rule in his summary judgment response, and appellees did not establish as a matter of law that prior to October 8, 1989, four years before he filed suit, he knew or should have known facts giving rise to his fraud cause of action.

Appellees contend that the fraud claim is based on the same factual allegations as appellant’s other claims. Therefore, the fraud claim is nothing more than a legal malpractice claim and is governed by the two-year statute of limitations. Alternatively, if the four-year statute applies to this claim, it is nevertheless barred because the summary judgment evidence shows appellant knew or should have known facts giving rise to that claim before October 8,1989.

B. Applicable Law

1. Standard of Review

To obtain a summary judgment, the mov-ant has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex.R.Civ.P. 166a(c). In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue precluding summary judgment, the appellate court takes as true evidence favorable to the nonmovant. The appellate court indulges every reasonable inference in favor of the non-movant and resolves all doubts in the non-movant’s favor. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985).

The summary judgment motion must expressly present specific grounds for summary judgment. McConnell v. Southside Indep. Sch. Dist., 858 S.W.2d 337, 341 (Tex.1993). Summary judgment for a defendant is proper when the summary judgment evidence conclusively negates at least one factual element of each theory pleaded by the plaintiff or conclusively establishes all the elements of the defendant’s affirmative defense. Black v. Victoria Lloyds Ins. Co., 797 S.W.2d 20, 27 (Tex.1990). The trial court will not consider evidence which favors the movant’s position unless it is uneontroverted. Courtney v. University of Tex. Sys., 806 S.W.2d 277, 279 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1991, writ denied). When the order granting summary judgment does not specify the particular grounds the trial court sustained, the *481 appellate court must uphold the summary judgment on any ground asserted by the movant that is supported by the evidence and pleadings. Carr v. Brasher, 776 S.W.2d 667, 569 (Tex.1989).

2.Limitations

A defendant seeking summary judgment on the basis of limitations must prove as a matter of law when the cause of action accrued. When the plaintiff has pleaded the discovery rule, the defendant must negate the rule by proving as a matter of law that thei'e is no genuine issue of fact about when the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the nature of the injury. American Medical Elecs., Inc. v. Korn, 819 S.W.2d 573, 576 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1991, writ denied). If the defendant cannot do so, a fact question exists about when the limitations period began to accrue. Clade v. Larsen, 838 S.W.2d 277, 282 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1992, writ denied). The accrual occurs when facts come into existence authorizing a claimant to seek a judicial remedy. Limitations runs from the time of the wrongful conduct, and bars actions for damages resulting from the wrongful conduct even though the damages are not fully developed during the limitations period.

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Bluebook (online)
943 S.W.2d 477, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 3322, 1995 WL 790826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sullivan-v-bickel-brewer-texapp-1995.