Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v. Cowan

906 S.W.2d 124, 1995 WL 480531
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 11, 1995
Docket03-94-00404-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 906 S.W.2d 124 (Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v. Cowan) 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
Trinity Universal Insurance Co. v. Cowan, 906 S.W.2d 124, 1995 WL 480531 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

CARROLL, Chief Justice.

Appellee Nicole Cowan took a default judgment in a personal injury lawsuit against Gregory Gage in the amount of $250,000 in actual and punitive damages. Gage was covered by a Texas homeowners insurance policy issued by Trinity Lloyd’s Insurance Company; therefore, Cowan sued Trinity Universal Insurance Company and Trinity Lloyd’s Insurance Company (“Trinity”) in the instant cause. Cowan obtained a partial summary judgment on March 30, 1994, in which the trial court found insurance coverage but did not adjudicate damages. On May 9, 1994, the trial court rendered final judgment for Cowan in the amount of $373,225, representing the amount of the underlying judgment, accrued interest, and attorney’s fees. Trinity challenges the trial court’s judgment in four points of error. We will affirm the judgment of the trial court.

BACKGROUND

In January 1992, Trinity issued a homeowners insurance policy to the parents of Gregory Gage, under which Gage was an additional insured. The cause of action giving rise to the underlying suit developed while Gage was employed as a photo lab clerk at H.E.B. Photo Place. A roll of film containing pictures of Cowan was delivered to H.E.B. for developing. Some of the pictures were provocative, and Gage made extra prints of several of the photographs and took them home. He later showed the pictures to a few of his friends and left the pictures with one friend with instructions to throw them away when he was through with them. It is undisputed that Gage never intended to injure Cowan in any way. However, the friend Gage entrusted with the pictures disregarded his instructions and showed the pictures to an individual who turned out to be Cowan’s *127 Mend. Cowan thereby learned of Gage’s actions.

Cowan filed the underlying lawsuit against Gage and H.E.B., alleging negligence and gross negligence, among other claims. Gage notified Trinity of the lawsuit and requested a defense and indemnity. Although Trinity initially provided Gage with a defense under a reservation of rights, upon investigation of Cowan’s claims Trinity concluded that her damages were not covered by the insurance policy and denied Gage coverage and any further defense. Gage subsequently agreed to assign any and all claims he had against Trinity to Cowan in exchange for a covenant not to execute against any of his assets except for the homeowners insurance policy, and the case proceeded to trial on May 17, 1993. Gage failed to appear, and Cowan put on evidence before the trial court. After hearing the evidence, the trial court found that Gage’s negligence and gross negligence proximately caused Cowan’s injuries and rendered a $250,000 judgment against him.

Cowan then filed the instant suit against Trinity. She asserted a direct claim against Trinity as judgment creditor of its insured, and she also alleged as assignee of Gage that Trinity had committed various common law and statutory bad faith insurance practices that caused damage to Gage. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Cowan moved for partial summary judgment solely on the issue of insurance coverage, and Trinity moved for summary judgment on the issue of insurance coverage as well as bad faith. After a hearing, the trial court granted Cowan’s motion for partial summary judgment and denied Trinity’s motion, leaving many issues for resolution at trial, including damages, Trinity’s liability under various bad faith causes of action, and attorney’s fees.

On the eve of trial, Cowan and Trinity settled the case. The Compromise and Settlement Agreement essentially provided that Trinity would agree to a judgment in the amount of the $250,000 underlying judgment, postjudgment interest, and $100,000 in attorney’s fees, and in exchange Cowan waived all claims for extracontractual damages over and above the aforementioned sums. The settlement agreement expressly reserved Trinity’s right to appeal the issues of coverage and the amount of the underlying judgment:

2. On appeal, Trinity Lloyd’s is limited to raising only two issues; (1) whether the Court’s rulings on insurance coverages in the [summary judgment] Order dated March 30, 1994 were correct, and (2) whether Trinity Lloyd’s is bound by the face amount ($250,000) of the Final Judgment in the underlying case attached hereto as Exhibit A
3. Solely for the purposes of appealing issue No. 2 as set forth in paragraph 2 above, the following facts are stipulated:
* * * ⅜ * *
g. $100,000.00 is a reasonable and necessary attorneys’ fee for plaintiff and plaintiff is entitled to $100,000.00 as an attorneys’ fee in the event Trinity Lloyd’s does not prevail on appeal.

The final judgment, which was “approved as to form” by the parties, was signed at an uncontested docket on May 9, 1994.

DISCUSSION

A. Effect of the Settlement Agreement and Final Judgment

We must dispose of a preliminary issue Cowan raises before addressing the four points of error Trinity advances. Cowan contends that this appeal should be dismissed, or alternatively, the trial court’s final judgment should be affirmed because Trinity agreed to the final judgment below. According to Cowan, although the settlement agreement “contemplates” an appeal, the agreement does not state that the settlement was subject to an appeal nor did Trinity expressly reserve the right of appeal in either the settlement agreement or the “agreed final judgment.” Moreover, argues Cowan, Texas law does not allow an appeal from an agreed final judgment.

A party cannot appeal from or attack a judgment to which he or she consented or agreed. See Gillum v. Republic Health Corp., 778 S.W.2d 558, 562 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1989, no writ). However, the final judgment in the instant cause was not an agreed judgment. The judgment states that the settle *128 ment agreement “had been entered into allowing the entry of this final judgment.” Cowan argues that this statement, coupled with the fact that the judgment was attached to the settlement agreement as an exhibit and the fact that the agreement specifically stated that Cowan would present the judgment to the trial court for signature, establishes that this was an agreed judgment. We disagree.

This Court must look to the circumstances surrounding rendition of the final judgment and the recitations in the final judgment to determine if in fact it was “agreed.” See Hill v. Bellville Gen. Hosp., 736 S.W.2d 675, 678 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1987, no writ). In examining the circumstances surrounding rendition of the final judgment in the instant cause, our primary concern is to ascertain the intent of the parties when they entered into the settlement agreement pursuant to which the judgment was rendered. See Gracia v. RC Cola-7-Up Bottling Co., 667 S.W.2d 517, 520 (Tex.1984). The parties entered into the settlement agreement to facilitate resolution of the case. In its partial summary judgment, the trial court had determined that Trinity was liable under the insurance policy.

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Bluebook (online)
906 S.W.2d 124, 1995 WL 480531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trinity-universal-insurance-co-v-cowan-texapp-1995.