Valsangiacomo v. Americana Juice Import, Inc.

35 S.W.3d 201, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 8436, 2000 WL 1863099
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 14, 2000
Docket13-99-587-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 35 S.W.3d 201 (Valsangiacomo v. Americana Juice Import, 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
Valsangiacomo v. Americana Juice Import, Inc., 35 S.W.3d 201, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 8436, 2000 WL 1863099 (Tex. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

RODRIGUEZ, Justice.

This is an appeal from the denial of a special appearance. See Tex.Civ.PRAC. & Rem.Code Ann. § 51.014(a)(7) (Vernon Supp.2000). We reverse and dismiss the cause for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Americana Juice Import (Americana) sued Cherubino Valsangiacomo, C.V. *204 (Cherubino) and Texas State Bank 1 in a Texas district court, seeking damages for breach of contract and fraud. Americana also sought injunctive relief against Texas State Bank to prevent it from paying on a letter of credit. On the same day the trial court held a hearing 2 on the temporary injunction, 3 Cherubino filed a special appearance. The trial court granted the injunction and subsequently denied the special appearance. By two issues, Cherubino challenges the trial court’s denial of the special appearance and its failure to file findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Americana is a Texas corporation which imports juice, with its principal place of business in Pharr, Texas. Cherubino is a business located in Spain which produces, among other things, grape juice concentrate. The underlying dispute involves an agreement between Cherubino and Americana, in which Americana was to purchase a large quantity of grape juice concentrate from Cherubino. In order to purchase the juice, Americana obtained a letter of credit from Texas State Bank with Cherubino named as the beneficiary. Cherubino was to receive payment under this letter upon presentment of various documents. The grape juice concentrate was shipped, and Americana received the juice, but did not find the juice acceptable and rejected the shipment. Cherubino presented the necessary documents to Texas State Bank, which in turn, paid Cherubino thirty percent of the value of the letter of credit as provided in the letter.

In its first issue, Cherubino contends the trial court erred in failing to file findings of fact and conclusions of law. Rule 297 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure requires a trial court to file findings of fact and conclusions of law within twenty days of a timely request. Tex.R.CivP. 297. The rule also requires the requesting party to file a “Notice of Past Due Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law” within thirty days after filing the original request if the trial court does not timely make findings and conclusions. Id. An appellant’s failure to file this reminder waives “the right to complain on appeal of any error related to the trial court’s failure to make a finding or conclusion.” Salinas v. Beaudrie, 960 S.W.2d 314, 317 (Tex.App. — Corpus Christi 1997, no pet.); Pierson v. GFH Financial Services Corp., 829 S.W.2d 311, 314 (Tex.App. — Austin 1992, no writ).

Here, the record shows the trial court failed to submit findings and conclusions after Cherubino requested them. However, the record does not indicate Cherubino filed a “Notice of Past Due Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.” Thus, it has waived any complaint regarding the trial court’s failure to file findings of fact and *205 conclusions of law. Cherubino’s first issue is overruled.

By its second issue, Cherubino asserts the trial court erred in denying its special appearance because the evidence conclusively establishes it was not subject to personal jurisdiction in Texas.

In Texas, a party may contest personal jurisdiction by filing a special appearance. Tex.R.Civ.P. 120a(1). In Happy Indus. v. American Specialties, 983 S.W.2d 844, 847 (Tex.App. — Corpus Christi 1998, pet. dism’d w.o.j.), this Court articulated the standard for reviewing a trial court’s denial of a special appearance:

The standard of review to determine the appropriateness of the trial court’s resolution of those facts is an ordinary sufficiency of the evidence review.... The scope of that review includes all evidence in the record.... If a special appearance is based on undisputed or otherwise established facts an appellate court shall conduct a de novo review of the trial court’s order granting a special appearance. [However,] in applying the jurisdictional formula to a particular case, the facts must be carefully weighed and mechanical application of any test ... must be avoided.

Happy, 983 S.W.2d at 847 (citations and quotations omitted).

In a case where the court has not filed findings or conclusions, all questions of fact will be presumed and found in support of the judgment. Magnolia Gas Co. & MKP v. Knight Equip. & Mfg. Corp., 994 S.W.2d 684, 690 (Tex.App. — San Antonio 1998, no pet.); Pierson, 829 S.W.2d at 314. Because the appellate record includes a reporter’s record, however, these findings are not conclusive on appeal. Magnolia Gas Co., 994 S.W.2d at 690 (citing Zac Smith & Co. v. Otis Elevator Co., 734 S.W.2d 662, 666 (Tex.1987)).

On appeal from a special appearance, we review all evidence in the record to determine if the nonresident defendant negated all possible grounds for personal jurisdiction. Kawasaki Steel Corp. v. Middleton, 699 S.W.2d 199, 203 (Tex.1985); N803RA Inc. v. Hammer, 11 S.W.3d 363, 366 (Tex.App. — Houston [1st. Dist.] 2000, no pet.). The plaintiff has the initial burden to plead sufficient allegations to show jurisdiction in Texas. McKanna v. Edgar, 388 S.W.2d 927, 930 (Tex.1965); M.G.M. Grand Hotel, Inc. v. Castro, 8 S.W.3d 403, 408 n. 2 (Tex.App. — Corpus Christi 1999, no pet.). Where the plaintiff fails to make such jurisdictional allegations, the defendant can carry its burden to defeat all bases of personal jurisdiction simply by presenting evidence that it is a nonresident. M.G.M. Grand, 8 S.W.3d at 408 n. 2. Once the defendant has produced credible evidence negating all bases of jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the ultimate burden to establish that the Texas court has personal jurisdiction over the defendant as a matter of law. Id.

The test for whether a Texas court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant is whether the defendant has some minimum, purposeful contacts with the state, and the exercise of jurisdiction will not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. Dawson-Austin v. Austin, 968 S.W.2d 319, 326 (Tex.1998); CSR, Ltd. v. Link, 925 S.W.2d 591, 594 (Tex.1996); see Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 413-14, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984); International Shoe Co. v. Washington,

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Bluebook (online)
35 S.W.3d 201, 2000 Tex. App. LEXIS 8436, 2000 WL 1863099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/valsangiacomo-v-americana-juice-import-inc-texapp-2000.