Total Clean, LLC v. Cox Smith Matthews Inc.

330 S.W.3d 657, 2010 WL 4108820
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 14, 2010
Docket04-09-00392-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 330 S.W.3d 657 (Total Clean, LLC v. Cox Smith Matthews Inc.) 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
Total Clean, LLC v. Cox Smith Matthews Inc., 330 S.W.3d 657, 2010 WL 4108820 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by:

STEVEN C. HILBIG, Justice.

Total Clean, LLC appeals the summary judgment rendered in favor of Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated and Renee McEl-haney. We affirm the take-nothing judgment on Total Clean’s negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud claims because Total Clean failed to present any evidence of actual damages in response to the motion for summary judgment. However, we reverse the judgment on Total Clean’s breach of fiduciary duty claim.

Background

The Nami family formed Total Clean in 2000 for the purpose of constructing and operating an automated commercial truck wash in San Antonio. To that end, Total Clean entered into a contract to purchase a truck wash system from ONDEO Nalco (“Nalco”). Unsatisfied with the work done by Nalco, Total Clean sued Nalco and sought to recover its lost profits from the venture. Total Clean hired Jon Powell as its attorney. Powell recommended Total Clean hire Renee McElhaney and Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated (“Cox Smith”) to serve as co-counsel. A jury trial was set to commence on September 29, 2003, in federal court before United States District Judge Royal Furgeson. In pretrial filings, Total Clean’s attorneys estimated trial would take from two to four weeks.

Shortly before the trial date, McElhaney attended an Inns of Court1 meeting, which [660]*660was also attended by Judge Furgeson. According to McElhaney, she had a brief conversation with the judge, during which he told her the parties would have only five days to try the case. As she left the Inns of Court meeting, McElhaney called Powell and relayed the comment to him. The next day, McElhaney met with Powell and Robert Nami, Sr., and reported the conversation to them. The litigants eventually settled the case for $4.5 million. The settlement proceeds allowed Total Clean to pay its attorney’s fees, recoup its initial investment of approximately $2,378 million, and recover approximately $357,000, the amount it was seeking from Nalco for past lost profits.

The Namis later came to believe that Judge Furgeson had not told McElhaney he would limit trial to only five days, and that McElhaney had lied in order to induce the Nami family to settle the case. Total Clean sued McElhaney and Cox Smith for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligence (legal malpractice), and negligent misrepresentation. McElhaney and Cox Smith (hereinafter, collectively, “appellees”) filed a combined motion for traditional summary judgment and a no-evidence summary judgment, asserting (1) there is no evidence McElhaney lied when she told Nami that Judge Furgeson told her the parties would be limited to five days to try the Nalco lawsuit; (2) Total Clean’s claim for actual damages is not supported by competent evidence; and (3) there is no evidence of the standard of care, breach, or causation because Total Clean failed to designate liability experts. Total Clean responded, and appellees later filed objections to Total Clean’s summary judgment evidence. After a hearing, the trial court sustained appellees’ evidentiary objections and granted their motion for summary judgment. Total Clean appeals.

Evidence of Conversation with the Judge

All of Total Clean’s causes of action are premised on the contention that Judge Furgeson did not tell McElhaney the parties would be limited to five days to try the case. Appellees moved for summary judgment on the ground there was no evidence McElhaney lied to the Namis about her conversation with Judge Furge-son. To defeat the no-evidence motion for summary judgment, Total Clean was required to bring forth more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact. See Reynosa v. Huff, 21 S.W.3d 510, 512 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2000, no pet.). More than a scintilla of evidence exists when the evidence rises to a level that enables reasonable and fair-minded people to differ in their conclusions. Id. Less than a scintilla of evidence exists when the evidence is “so weak as to do no more than create a mere surmise or suspicion” of a fact. Id. In deciding whether the summary judgment evidence raises a genuine issue of material fact, we review the entire record in the light most favorable to the respondent. King Ranch, Inc. v. Chapman, 118 S.W.3d 742, 750 (Tex.2003). We view as true all evidence favorable to the respondent and indulge every reasonable inference and resolve all doubts in its favor. Gonzales v. O’Brien, 305 S.W.3d 186,189 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2009, no pet.); Kelly v. Brown, 260 S.W.3d 212, 216 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2008, pet. denied).

Appellees contend the trial court correctly applied the equal inference rule to grant summary judgment on this ground because it is equally consistent to infer from the evidence that the conversation occurred as McElhaney reported it or that it did not. Total Clean acknowledges there is no direct evidence suppoi’ting its contention that McElhaney did not truthfully relate her conversation with Judge [661]*661Furgeson to the Namis. Instead, Total Clean relies on Judge Furgeson’s deposition testimony, including the testimony of his habits and general practices, and the pretrial proceedings in the Nalco suit. Total Clean argues the equal inference rule does not apply and the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on this ground because the record as a whole contains sufficient circumstantial evidence to enable a reasonable juror to infer that the alleged conversation in which Judge Furgeson told McElhaney he would limit trial time did not occur. We agree with Total Clean.

Judge Furgeson was asked at his August 2008 deposition whether he could recall “deciding or entering an order or telling the lawyers in this case that [he] was going to limit them to five days of trial.” The judge responded “I just don’t have any recollection about that one way or another. I don’t — I just don’t recall.” Later, when asked more specifically if he remembered telling McElhaney he was going to limit the trial to five days, he stated: “I don’t have any recollection of having a discussion with Ms. McElhaney about the trial date. I just have no recollection. I’m not saying I — it is possible that I had a discussion with her, but I have no recollection of it.”

Appellees assert this testimony amounts to nothing more than meager circumstantial evidence that would require the jury to improperly pick between two reasonable but equally probable inferences: that Judge Furgeson made the alleged statement to McElhaney but he could not recall doing so or that he did not make the statement. See Hammerly Oaks, Inc. v. Edwards, 958 S.W.2d 387, 392 (Tex.1997) (when circumstances are consistent with either of two facts and nothing shows that one is more probable than the other, neither fact can be inferred). This argument ignores the rest of the summary judgment record.

Total Clean filed the record of a June 2003 pretrial hearing held in the Nalco case. At that hearing, the attorneys told Judge Furgeson the case would take up to three weeks to try. The judge set the trial for September 29, 2003.

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330 S.W.3d 657, 2010 WL 4108820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/total-clean-llc-v-cox-smith-matthews-inc-texapp-2010.