Travenol Laboratories, Inc. v. Bandy Laboratories, Inc.

630 S.W.2d 484, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 4072
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 4, 1982
DocketNo. 6365
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 630 S.W.2d 484 (Travenol Laboratories, Inc. v. Bandy Laboratories, 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
Travenol Laboratories, Inc. v. Bandy Laboratories, Inc., 630 S.W.2d 484, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 4072 (Tex. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

McDONALD, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal by plaintiffs (appellants) Travenol and Herndon, from judgment they take nothing, rendered upon a directed verdict, in a bill of review proceeding.

Bandy Laboratories, defendant (appellee), a manufacturer of veterinary products, including rabies vaccine, filed the original suit in 1977 against Travenol and Herndon, alleging that three Serials (60-61-62) of rabies vaccine manufactured by it, had become contaminated with bacteria, and that two serials were rendered unmarketable as a result; that surgeon’s gloves manufactured by Travenol and sold by Herndon to Bandy had microscopic holes which permitted bacteria to pass from the wearer’s hand into the vaccine. After trial to a jury, judgment was rendered November 10, 1978 in favor of Bandy and against Travenol and Herndon for $144,000. The judgment was affirmed on appeal. Travenol Laboratories, Inc. v. Bandy Laboratories, Inc., CCA (Waco) NRE, 608 S.W.2d 308.

Thereafter and within the time in which a bill of review may be filed, Travenol and Herndon filed this bill of review proceeding alleging that they have a meritorious defense to Bandy’s suit against them which they were prevented from making due to the fraud, accident, mistake or wrongful action of Bandy, unmixed with any negligence on their part.

[486]*486Specially Travenol and Herndon alleged that despite discovery requests having been made which would have called for its disclosure, Bandy failed to disclose in the first trial that in producing Serials prior to Serials 60-62 it had consistently and illegally added a strong chemical decontaminate, beta propiolactone (BPL) to the vaccine; that the use of BPL in prior Serials was extremely significant with respect to the source of bacterial contamination in Serials 60-62, and would have been identified and noted had such prior use been reflected in the production records, that Andres Menchu an employee and Vice President of Bandy who testified at the first trial that in his opinion the cause of contamination in Serials 60-62 was the pinholes in the gloves, had since the first trial discovered that BPL was used in the production of prior Serials of the rabies vaccine, and that this fact was significant with respect to the question of the source of the contamination in Serials 60-62, and that he is now of the opinion the contamination was not caused by the defects in the gloves.

Bandy moved for summary judgment which the trial court denied. By agreement of the parties (with approval of the trial court), trial on the merits was bifurcated, a jury being empaneled to hear the issue as to whether the prior judgment was rendered due to fraud, accident, mistake or wrongful act of Bandy, unmixed with any negligence on Travenol and Herndon’s part. At the close of plaintiff’s evidence the trial court granted Bandy’s motion for directed verdict and thereafter rendered judgment that Travenol and Herndon take nothing. Motion for new trial was overruled by operation of law.

Travenol and Herndon appeal on 6 points, dominant of which assert the trial court erred in granting the motion for instructed verdict (and not granting a new trial) because there is a material fact issue as to the existence of extrinsic fraud, accident, mistake or wrongful conduct, unmixed with any negligence on the part of appellants.

Bandy by reply points asserts: Travenol, et al failed to offer evidence raising an issue of fact as to whether they were prevented by fraud from fully developing their defense; failed to present evidence raising an issue of fact on the question of their own negligence; and that the alleged fraud was intrinsic and not extrinsic.

In passing upon the question of the trial court’s authority to instruct a verdict, the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the party against whom the verdict is instructed. Where there is any conflicting evidence of probative nature, a determination of the issue is for the jury. Texas Employers Ins. Assn. v. Page, S.Ct., 553 S.W.2d 98.

A bill of review complainant must open and assume the burden of proving that the judgment was rendered as the result of fraud, accident or wrongful act of the opposite party, unmixed with any negligence of his own. Baker v. Goldsmith, S.Ct., 582 S.W.2d 404. And there is a strong policy favoring the finality of judgments, Baker v. Goldsmith, supra; Alexander v. Hagedorn, S.Ct., 148 Tex. 565, 226 S.W.2d 996.

Finally fraud in relation to attacks on final judgments is either extrinsic or intrinsic, and only extrinsic fraud will entitle a complainant to relief. Intrinsic fraud in the procurement of a judgment is not ground for vacating such judgment in an independent suit brought for that purpose. And within that term is included fraudulent instruments, perjured testimony, or any matter which was actually presented to and considered by the trial court in rendering the judgment assailed. All mistakes and errors must be corrected from within by motion for new trial; or to reopen the judgment, or by appeal; the fraud which would otherwise relieve must be in some matter other than the issue in controversy in the action. Alexander v. Hagedorn, supra.

The rationale for not considering intrinsic fraud is that if a losing party can obtain a bill of review on matters actually presented at the trial, he will be able to retry his case indefinitely.

[487]*487Bandy had manufactured rabies vaccine of “caprine origin, killed virus type” for a number of years. The production of rabies vaccine is regulated and supervised by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which must approve a manufacturer’s production outline (recipe for production). Bandy had an approved outline (which did not authorize use of BPL) for production for marketing; and had an approved outline authorizing use of BPL for production for research and development purposes. The most important considerations in the production of a vaccine are: potency (ability to do the intended job), sterility (absence of contamination) and safety (absence of harmful effects).

The brains of rabid goats were used to make the vaccine. It was necessary to kill the rabies virus and also to kill any bacterial contaminants in the brains, in order to make a sterile and safe vaccine. Bandy had used a mixture of 0.5% phenol and 0.2% BPL to achieve this in some Serials prior to 60-62. Phenol alone will supposedly do the job, but BPL does the job more effectively. But BPL was prohibited for use in vaccine to be marketed in the United States because of possibility it would cause cancer. Serials 60-62, which were contaminated with various bacteria, were produced with the addition of phenol to kill the live virus and bacteria contaminants. No BPL was used in the production of Serials 60-62. These Serials when completed were contaminated with bacteria, were rendered unmarketable, to Bandy’s damage. Menchu, Bandy’s Vice President, testified in the first trial he investigated the cause of the contamination and that in his opinion it was caused by the admitted pinholes in the gloves manufactured by Travenol.

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630 S.W.2d 484, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 4072, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/travenol-laboratories-inc-v-bandy-laboratories-inc-texapp-1982.