Trevino v. City of Pearland

531 S.W.3d 290
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 24, 2017
DocketNO. 14-16-00298-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 531 S.W.3d 290 (Trevino v. City of Pearland) 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
Trevino v. City of Pearland, 531 S.W.3d 290 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

Kem Thompson Frost, Chief Justice

This appeal arises out of a dispute between a city and property owners in connection with the city’s land acquisition. The owners of one piece of property conveyed a portion of their property to the city for an agreed-upon price. When the city and the property'owners clashed over the amount the city would pay the owners for expenses related to the relocation of their business, litigation ensued. Both sides sought a declaratory judgment. After a jury trial on the amount the city agreed to pay the owners, and a bench trial on the attorney’s fees, the trial court rendered judgment ordering the city to pay the owners the amount of relocation assistance to which the jury found that the city had agreed to pay, and the trial court awarded attorney’s fees to the city. The owners appeal the award of attorney’s fees and the trial court’s refusal to award them attorney’s fees, prejudgment interest, and costs. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

I. Background

The City of Pearland was expanding Bailey Road from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with medians. The expansion'required the City to acquire property along both sides of Bailey Road for about two and one-half miles. Anthony Vu, acquisition manager'for the City, spearheaded the city’s effort to acquire property for the City’s public projects, including the expansion of Bailey Road (the “Bailey Road [293]*293Expansion”). Frank Trevino, the president and owner of Trevino Industries, and his wife, Sidelia Trevino, jointly owned a piece of property adjacent to Bailey Road. Vu wrote to Trevino, advising him that the City needed to acquire the Trevinos’ property for the Bailey Road Expansion and, as part of the acquisition process, the City had hired an appraisal firm to appraise the Trevino property.

Seven months later, Integra Realty Resources provided Vu with the appraisal report it had prepared for the Trevino property. The amount of the property to be acquired was 6,108 square feet, about a thirty-foot strip of land adjacent to Bailey Road. Integra assigned the following values:

• $195,091 for the entire property;
• $19,299 for the acquisition parcel;
• $175,792 for the remainder before acquisition; and
• $50,028 for the remainder after acquisition.

As a result of the appraisal process, Integra recommended total compensation of $148,543, an amount derived by subtracting $50,028 (the remainder after the acquisition) from $175,792 (the remainder before the acquisition). The City retained Right-of-Way Solutions “for title, negotiation, and relocation assistance” related to the Bailey Road Expansion. Kevin Stephenson, a right-of-way specialist for Right-of-Way Solutions, wrote to the Tre-vinos, offering them $148,543 to acquire the 6,108 square feet.

The Trevinos submitted a “Relocation Assistance Request Approval Form” to the City. Trevino Industries, which had been located on Bailey Road for forty years, provided welding and repair services for public utilities, the oil industry, and the construction industry. With the City’s acquisition of a portion of the Trevinos’ property, 18-wheel trucks bringing in equipment and materials no longer would have access to a metal building located on the portion of property not acquired by the City, and the Trevinos would have to move the business to a new location.

Frank Trevino wrote to Stephenson, requesting $150,715 for relocation assistance. Vu and Trevino met to discuss the items, which Trevino included in the $150,715 request for relocation assistance. Vu rejected the request. Then, Vu wrote to Trevino, on December 29, 2010, making the following offer for the amount of relocation assistance:- “In reference to your bid estimates for relocation, the City has made an offer to assist you in your relocation efforts amount to [sic] $84,235.00 of which $15,985.00 is dependent on location of public utilities.”

The Trevinos made a counteroffer of $227,712 for the price of the acquisition parcel. The City refused the Trevinos’ counteroffer for the property, but Stephenson made a counteroffer of $161,827 on behalf of the City. The Trevinos accepted the counteroffer.

Purchase Agreement for the Property

The City and the Trevinos entered into a purchase agreement for the 6,108 square feet of property. The agreement did not mention assistance for relocation. According to Frank Trevino, he told Vu the agreement needed to state that the City was going to pay the Trevinos $84,235 for relocation assistance, plus an additional amount for “electrical work necessary to reinstall equipment at new location, plus underground wire from outside power source” based on new bids for that work.1 [294]*294Trevino signed the document after Vu added the following sentence regarding relocation costs to the purchase - agreement: “City will provide relocation assistance- per letter dated 12-29-10.”

A dispute arose between the City and the Trevinos over the amount the City agreed to pay the Trevinos for relocation assistance, The Trevinos claimed that Vu verbally agreed that the City would pay more than $84,235 in relocation assistance based on the bids for the electrical service'.

_Vu sent the Trevinos a letter reducing the amount of - the relocation assistance that the City would pay the Trevinos: “Based on updated relocation estimates and other pertinent, information, the City of Pearland has determined that $49,057.00 is the final amount that can be supported and is offered to you for relocation assistance.” The Trevinos- sought a meeting to inquire about the reduction of the City’s $84,235 offer, “plus the new bids,” to $49,057. At that meeting, the,City ultimately reoffered the Trevinos $84,235,' but the Trevinos rejected the offer. .

Declaratory-Judgment Claims

The City filed a petition for declaratory relief asserting that although the December 29, 2010 letter attached to the purchase - agreement “required the City to pay, at most, $84,235.00 to the Trevinos for relocation expenses, the Trevinos are now demanding more than $200,000.00.” The City asked the trial court to “declare that the Trevinos accepted the City’s offer in accordance with its terms,” and that the parties had entered into “a valid and enforceable contract.” The City also requested the trial court to “declare that the City is contractually obligated to pay the Trevi-nos no more than $84,235.00 for relocation expenses.” The City also sought to recover attorney’s fees under the. Declaratory Judgment Act.

The Trevinos brought a counterclaim for declaratory judgment, asking the trial court to declare “they are entitled' to recover from the City relocation costs in an amount between $121,235 and $125,935 for moving the Trevinos’ business to a new location.”

Breach-of-Contract Claim Against the City

The Trevinos also brought a counterclaim for breach of contract, alleging the City never tendered any-amount to the Trevinos-for the “agreed location costs, not even the amount the City alleged- it had agreed to when it filed this lawsuit.”,The Trevinos sought attorney’s fees based on their breach-of-contract claim against the City and under the Declaratory, Judgments Act.

Jury’s Findings

The trial court charged the jury to answer a series of questions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
531 S.W.3d 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trevino-v-city-of-pearland-texapp-2017.