Tinney v. Team Bank

819 S.W.2d 560, 1991 WL 135518
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 20, 1991
Docket2-90-103-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 819 S.W.2d 560 (Tinney v. Team Bank) 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
Tinney v. Team Bank, 819 S.W.2d 560, 1991 WL 135518 (Tex. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

[561]*561OPINION

HILL, Justice.

Robert Earl Tinney, Independent Executor of the Estate of Charles W. Tinney, deceased, appeals from a take-nothing judgment in favor of Team Bank, formerly known as Texas American Bank/Fort Worth, N.A. and Texas American Bridge Bank/Fort Worth, N.A., Independent Administrator of the Estate of J.I. Harvey, deceased. Robert Tinney brought suit on a note executed by Harvey in favor of Charles W. Tinney. Following a bench trial, the court entered a take-nothing judgment in favor of Team Bank, and filed findings of fact and conclusions of law. In seven points of error, Tinney contends that the trial court erred or abused its discretion by: (1) considering certain requests for admissions to be deemed admitted; (2) failing to allow Tinney additional time to answer the requests or withdraw the deemed admissions and either amend or answer them; (3) prohibiting Tinney from testifying that the Harvey obligation had not been paid; (4) granting Team Bank’s motion for judgment and entering judgment against Tin-ney because there is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the judgment and the relevant findings of fact and conclusions of law; (5) failing to grant Tinney’s motion for judgment; (6) concluding that the contract of purchase of property in which the estate had no interest was sufficient consideration to support the release from the estate; and (7) dismissing the intervenors.

We reverse and render judgment for Robert Tinney as independent executor of the Charles Tinney estate because we hold that the undisputed evidence establishes as a matter of law that there was no consideration received by the Tinney estate in exchange for the release of lien executed by Tinney in his capacity as independent executor as partial consideration for Harvey’s agreement to purchase a truck stop from Tinney and other individuals, and that Harvey had knowledge of such facts that would as a matter of law charge him with notice that the transaction constituted a breach of Tinney’s fiduciary duty to the Tinney estate. We remand the issue of Tinney’s attorney’s fees.

Tinney urges in points of error numbers one and two that the trial court erred or abused its discretion by considering the requests for admissions to be deemed admitted and by failing to allow Tinney additional time to answer the requests or withdraw the deemed admissions and either amend or answer them.

Suit was brought on a promissory note executed on April 14, 1983, by J.I. Harvey, now deceased, in favor of Charles W. Tin-ney, also now deceased. The note was secured by a vendor’s lien deed of trust. Since Charles Tinney died after the execution of the note, Robert Tinney brought suit in his capacity as independent executor of Charles’ estate. When Harvey died after this suit was brought, Texas American Bank/Fort Worth, N.A., independent administrator of Harvey’s estate, was substituted as defendant. The bank is now named Team Bank.

Prior to trial, Team Bank submitted certain requests for admissions to Tinney. Among these admissions was an admission that Tinney, as executor of the estate, had executed a release of the lien on the note, in which he acknowledged payment in full on the note, as partial consideration for Harvey’s purchase of a truck stop from T.J. Tinney, Jr., Retta Tinney, Wanda Tin-ney, and Robert Tinney. The paperwork in connection with the sale of the truck stop made no reference to the Tinney estate.

Tinney never responded to the requests for admissions. Consequently, Tinney was not allowed to testify at trial that the note was unpaid. The trial judge declared that his understanding was that the admissions were deemed admitted and that he could not extend the time to answer them. The trial court relied on the admissions in his findings of fact and conclusions of law, finding that the execution by Harvey of the contract for the purchase of the truck stop was sufficient consideration to discharge the note.

Rule 169(1) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure provides that when there is no [562]*562timely response to a request for admissions the matter is admitted without the necessity of a court order. Rule 169(2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure states that “the court may permit withdrawal or amendment of responses and deemed admissions upon a showing of good cause for such withdrawal or amendment if the court finds that the parties relying upon the responses and deemed admissions will not be unduly prejudiced and that the presentation of the merits of the action will be sub-served thereby.” Id.

Tinney had the burden to present evidence to the court to establish good cause for his failure to make timely answers to the requests for admission, that withdrawals of the admissions could be ordered without undue prejudice to Team Bank, and that the presentation of the merits would be subserved by the withdrawal. Boone v. Texas Employers’ Insurance Association, 790 S.W.2d 683, 688 (Tex.App.—Tyler 1990, no writ).

The only evidence presented by Tinney as to the admissions consisted of the statement of counsel that, “... I have that, and I just somehow failed to put it in my file and failed to get the answers.” The attorney did not testify and made no statements as to the subject of prejudice to Team Bank or as to whether the presentation of the merits would be subserved by the withdrawal.

The requirement of good cause in Rule 169 is the same as that in the case of default judgments under Rule 320 and may be established by a showing that the failure to file was not intentional or in conscious disregard of the party’s obligation to timely file an answer. Id. at 689.

Tinney argues that the statement of facts reflects that he did not receive the request for admissions until October 31, 1989, only ten days before trial. A revised statement of facts shows that the requests were received by Tinney on October 13, 1989, and that the trial actually began on November 20, 1989, more than thirty-three days from the date he received them.

Tinney also insists that he met his burden by proving good cause and that his statement that he would answer “today during this case” shows that no undue prejudice to the Bank would have resulted. Even if counsel’s statements did constitute the presentation of evidence we hold that it was insufficient to meet Tinney’s burden as to the second two elements that Tinney was required to prove, that Team Bank would not be prejudiced and that the merits would be subserved, so that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow Tinney’s request for additional time to answer the requests and in considering the requests deemed admitted. We overrule points of error numbers one and two.

Tinney contends in point of error number three that the trial court erred in prohibiting him from testifying that the estate’s obligation on the note had not been paid. In points of error numbers four, five, and six, Tinney urges that the trial court erred in granting the Bank’s motion for judgment rather than his because there is no evidence, or insufficient evidence, to support the judgment and the findings of fact and conclusions of law, and in concluding that the contract of purchase of property in which the estate had no interest was sufficient consideration to support the release from the estate.

Tinney testified in a bill of exceptions at trial that no payments had ever been made on the note.

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Tinney v. Team Bank
819 S.W.2d 560 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)

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