Three Bears, Inc. v. Transamerican Leasing Co.

560 S.W.2d 183, 1977 Tex. App. LEXIS 3722
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 14, 1977
DocketNo. 6632
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 560 S.W.2d 183 (Three Bears, Inc. v. Transamerican Leasing 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
Three Bears, Inc. v. Transamerican Leasing Co., 560 S.W.2d 183, 1977 Tex. App. LEXIS 3722 (Tex. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

OPINION

OSBORN, Justice.

Our prior opinion in this case, dated November 2, 1977, is withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted therefor.

This is an appeal from a judgment in a jury-tried case. The trial Court, after vacating its first judgment, entered a second judgment for damages and attorney's fees as found by the jury. It appears from the record that this case has become a procedural nightmare for all concerned with the trial and the appeal.

Three Bears, Inc., was engaged in operating a chain of hamburger stands in San Antonio. In February, 1972, Three Bears ordered restaurant equipment from Ray Pittman for three new locations. Trans-american Leasing Company proposed to actually purchase the equipment and then lease it to Three Bears. In May and June, 1973, Three Bears, joined by the G. S. and Gladys A. McCreless Trust, executed three leases in favor of Transamerican, each for a term of 60 months. The first and last monthly payments were made as provided for in the lease. No other payments were ever made because Transamerican was unable to obtain “funding” or financing to pay Pittman for the equipment.

After Transamerican was unable to secure permanent financing, the G. S. and Gladys A. McCreless Trust guaranteed a loan from the First National Bank of San Antonio to Transamerican for $88,000.00 as interim financing. Eventually, the Trust paid the note and caused it to be assigned to G. S. McCreless.

Transamerican filed this suit against Three Bears and the Trust to recover on the three leases. Numerous defenses were alleged in answer to the suit. The case was submitted to the jury on issues covering [184]*184conditional delivery of the leases, failure of consideration, damages, and attorney’s fees, all of which were answered favorably to Transamerican. On December 4, 1975, judgment was entered on the verdict. A motion for new trial was filed on December 12, 1975, and amended on December 31, 1975. It then became apparent for the first time to the Court and counsel for Appellee that there had been no compliance with Article 7425b — 19, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann., which requires notice be given to each beneficiary of a trust prior to entry of a judgment in a suit involving a trust. Trans-american filed a motion to reopen the case for a limited purpose so as to give notice to these beneficiaries and to then enter an amended judgment based upon the original jury findings.

On February 12, 1976, the Court vacated its prior judgment and directed Transamer-ican to comply with Section 19 of the Texas Trust Act. The Court appointed a guardian ad litem to represent two minor contingent beneficiaries of the Trust. The two beneficiaries and seven contingent beneficiaries were all cited to appear. Transamerican then filed a motion for judgment and after a hearing the Court apparently concluded that the provisions of Article 7425b-19 had not been timely complied with and that a new trial was necessary. Transamerican then filed a motion to reconsider which was granted and judgment was entered for Transamerican on August 17, 1976, based upon the earlier jury findings.

During the time the parties and the trial Court were involved with the question of Transamerican’s compliance with the Texas Trust Act, the beneficiaries of the Trust filed a motion for leave to file a petition for writ of mandamus in the Texas Supreme Court to require the trial judge to vacate the alleged void judgment entered on December 4, 1975, and to proceed to trial of the case. The motion was overruled on June 9, 1976, and rehearing denied on July 14, 1976. Durr v. Spears (B-6030), 19 Tex.Sup.Ct.Jr. 338 and 382.

The Appellants have timely appealed from the judgment entered in August, 1976. We must first determine the effect of the order of the Court entered on February 12, 1976, vacating the judgment which had been entered on December 4, 1975. The judgment was vacated more than 30 days after it was entered but within 45 days after the amended motion for new trial was filed. See Rule 329b, Secs. 3 and 5, Tex.R. Civ.P. Basically, Section 3 of this Rule requires that all motions and amended motions for new trial be determined within 45 days after they are filed. Section 5 provides in part that judgments shall become final 30 days after the date of rendition of judgment or order overruling a motion for new trial. Much has been written about a trial Court’s “plenary power” over its judgment based upon Rule 329b. That is the basic issue involved in this ease. We hold that after 30 days from the rendition of judgment, the Court’s plenary power over its judgment terminates in a case where a motion for new trial is not overruled. We hold that an order vacating a prior judgment within 45 days after a motion or amended motion for new trial is filed has the effect of granting a new trial.

In 1973, this Court, in El Paso Moulding and Manufacturing Co. v. Southwest Forest Industries, 492 S.W.2d 331 (1973, writ ref’d n. r. e.), said:

“ * * * It has been said that the Texas practice proceeds on the notion that there is something slightly sacrosanct about the precise periods within which motions for new trial must be filed and determined. 4 McDonald, Texas Civil Practice, Sec. 18.06.1, p. 241. The same may be said of the trial Court’s inherent power to modify or amend a final judgment. It could have amended the final judgment until but not after the expiration of thirty days from the rendition of the final judgment * * *."

We still adhere to that holding. Most of the cases relied upon by Appellee in its motion for rehearing also support such holding.

In First State Bank and Trust Company of Port Lavaca v. Vector Corporation, 427 S.W.2d 958 (Tex.Civ.App.-Waco 1968, writ [185]*185ref’d n. r. e.), the Court recognized “that the trial court had plenary power, until the expiration of 30 days after the date of judgment in the case on its merits, or after a motion for new trial was overruled, to vacate, modify or reform the judgment, to correct clerical errors in the judgment or to grant a new trial * * (Emphasis added). That was also the holding by the Court in Turner v. Texas Sportservice, Inc., 312 S.W.2d 388 (Tex.Civ.App.-San Antonio 1958, writ ref’d n. r. e.), where Justice Barrow, writing for the Court, said:

“* * * The court has plenary power until (but not after) ‘the expiration of thirty (30) days after the date of judgment or after a motion for new trial is overruled,’ regardless of the expiration of a term of court during such period, to vacate, modify, correct or reform the same or to grant a new trial, according to the justice of the case. McDonald, Texas Civil Practice, Vol. 4, pp. 1420-1421, Sec. 18.03. * * *”

The Court in that case went ahead to note that an order vacating its original judgment was valid since it was entered within 45 days after the filing of the motion for new trial. Likewise, in our case the order vacating the original judgment was valid because it was entered within 45 days after the filing of the amended motion for new trial.

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Related

Canavati v. Shipman
610 S.W.2d 200 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Three Bears, Inc. v. Transamerican Leasing Co.
574 S.W.2d 193 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1978)
Transamerican Leasing Co. v. Three Bears, Inc.
567 S.W.2d 799 (Texas Supreme Court, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
560 S.W.2d 183, 1977 Tex. App. LEXIS 3722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/three-bears-inc-v-transamerican-leasing-co-texapp-1977.