Ulogo v. Villanueva

177 S.W.3d 496, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 3865, 2005 WL 1189647
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 19, 2005
Docket01-03-00661-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 177 S.W.3d 496 (Ulogo v. Villanueva) 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
Ulogo v. Villanueva, 177 S.W.3d 496, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 3865, 2005 WL 1189647 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

ELSA ALCALA, Justice.

Appellant, Jude Ulogo, has filed a motion for rehearing of our opinion of January 6, 2005, and appellee, Benita Villa-nueva, has filed a response. We grant rehearing and withdraw our opinion of January 6, 2005 and issue this opinion and accompanying judgment in their place.

Appellant sued Villanueva for personal injuries resulting from a car collision. Villanueva filed a counter claim against Ulogo claiming injuries and damages resulting from Ulogo’s negligence. A jury found both parties negligent, apportioned liability 65% against Ulogo and 35% against Villanueva, and found that Villa-nueva had incurred $3,446.25 in damages. Ulogo appeals from the judgment awarding Villanueva $2,240.06 in actual damages, $317.36 in pre-judgment interest, and $2,082.16 in costs. In five issues, Ulogo contends that the trial court erred (1) by denying his motion for continuance, (2) by overruling his motion in-limine, (3) by allowing Villanueva’s attorney to refer to the nationality of Ulogo and his key witness, and (4) by excluding a police officer’s testimony regarding his opinions about how the car accident occurred and who was at fault. He also argues that the jury verdict was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. We affirm.

Background

At approximately 4:15 p.m. on March 2, 2001, in southwest Houston, Ulogo’s car collided with Villanueva’s car on Beechnut Street. Villanueva testified that she drove on Commerce Street until the road ended at Beechnut Street. Villanueva decided to turn left, which is west, onto Beechnut Street. Beechnut is a street that runs in an east-west direction, and has three lanes in each direction; a median divides the eastbound lanes from the westbound lanes. Villanueva drove across the three eastbound lanes and stopped at the median that divides the eastbound lanes from the westbound lanes. A portion of the rear end of her car, however, protruded onto the eastbound lane that was closest to the median. Ulogo then struck the rear end of Villanueva’s car with the front of his car. Her car was pushed into the westbound traffic, where it struck another car, whose owner is not a party to this lawsuit.

Ulogo testified that, as he drove on the eastbound lane of Beechnut Street that was farthest from the median, a car quickly entered onto Beechnut Street from Commerce Street in front of him, causing his car to collide with the rear end of Villanueva’s car.

At trial, the jury heard testimony from both Ulogo and Villanueva. Additionally, Officer Wright, a Houston Police Officer, testified that he investigated the traffic accident and spoke to both Ulogo and Villanueva on the afternoon of the accident. Ulogo also presented the testimony of Alex Edike, who said that he saw Villa-nueva run the stop sign on Commerce Street, causing the collision with Ulogo on Beechnut Street.

*499 Factual Sufficiency

In his fifth issue, Ulogo contends that the jury verdict in favor of Villanueva, finding Ulogo 65% hable and Villanueva 35% liable, is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.

If a party challenges a jury finding regarding an issue upon which that party had the burden of proof, the moving party must demonstrate on appeal that the adverse finding is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. Dow Chem. Co. v. Francis, 46 S.W.3d 237, 242 (Tex.2001). The court of appeals must consider and weigh all of the evidence and can set aside a verdict only if the evidence is so weak or if the finding is so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence that it is clearly wrong and unjust. Id. It is the jury’s province to reconcile conflicting or contradictory evidence of the witnesses. Herbert v. Herbert, 754 S.W.2d 141, 144 (Tex.1988). The jury is the sole judge of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony. Transmission Exch. Inc. v. Long, 821 S.W.2d 265, 271 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1991, writ denied). We may not substitute our opinion for that of the trier of fact. Id.

Ulogo contends that the evidence is factually insufficient because Edike’s testimony established that Villanueva did not stop at her stop sign on Commerce Street and because the officer testified that Ulogo told him he was in the eastbound lane of Beechnut Street that was farthest from the median.

The jury heard two different versions of the event. Villanueva contended that she stopped at the stop sign at Commerce Street, drove into the median, and stopped there to turn left onto to the westbound lanes of Beechnut Street, when Ulogo’s car struck her car. Ulogo’s and Edike’s testimony shows that Villanueva ran the stop sign at Commerce Street and was struck by Ulogo.

Villanueva’s and Ulogo’s disagreements concerning the versions of the event centered on whether Ulogo was in the eastbound lane on Beechnut Street that was nearest to the median, as Villanueva contended, or that he was in the lane that was nearest to Commerce Street, and farthest from the median, as Ulogo and Edike contended. Although the police officer testified that Ulogo told him he was in the lane that was farthest from the median, Ulogo admitted making inconsistent statements on this issue in a tape-recorded statement he made after the accident, by stating that he was in the lane nearest the median. Additionally, the police officer’s testimony shows that Villanueva consistently told him that she was stopped at the median when she was struck.

Although Ulogo and Edike purported to be strangers, the record shows that they lived in the same apartment complex and were both from Nigeria. Additionally, although he claimed to be at the scene of the accident, Edike did not give a statement to the police officer.

Ulogo’s factual sufficiency complaint asks us to substitute our opinion for that of the trier of fact by finding his witnesses’ testimony more credible than Villanueva’s testimony. As an appellate court, we must defer credibility assessments to the jury when the issues concern the weight to be given to testimony. See Transmission Exch. Inc., 821 S.W.2d at 271; Herbert, 754 S.W.2d at 144. The jury is free to believe or disbelieve a witness’s testimony in whole or in part. Miller v. Kendall, 804 S.W.2d 933, 939 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no writ). We hold that the evidence supporting the jury finding, that Ulogo was 65% liable and that Villanueva was 35% liable, was not so *500 against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence so as to be clearly wrong or unjust. We hold the evidence is factually sufficient to support the judgment.

We overrule Ulogo’s fifth issue.

Motion for Continuance

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Bluebook (online)
177 S.W.3d 496, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 3865, 2005 WL 1189647, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ulogo-v-villanueva-texapp-2005.