Wanda Kay Cohen v. Landry's, Inc., Landry's Crab Shack, Inc., and Landry's Seafood & Oyster Bar-Kemah, Inc.

442 S.W.3d 818, 2014 WL 4071895
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 19, 2014
Docket14-13-00634-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 442 S.W.3d 818 (Wanda Kay Cohen v. Landry's, Inc., Landry's Crab Shack, Inc., and Landry's Seafood & Oyster Bar-Kemah, 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
Wanda Kay Cohen v. Landry's, Inc., Landry's Crab Shack, Inc., and Landry's Seafood & Oyster Bar-Kemah, Inc., 442 S.W.3d 818, 2014 WL 4071895 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinions

OPINION

MARTHA HILL JAMISON, Justice.

Appellant AVanda Kay Cohen contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on her premises liability claim in favor of appellees, Landry’s Restaurants, Inc., Landry’s Crab Shack, Inc., and Landry’s Seafood Inn & Oyster Bar-Kemah, Inc. (collectively referred to as “Landry’s”). Concluding that Landry’s did not establish as a matter of law that it owed no duty to Cohen and Cohen presented more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding each challenged element of her [821]*821premises liability claim, we reverse and remand the trial court’s summary judgment as to that claim. We affirm the trial court’s summary judgment as to Cohen’s other claims, as they have not been challenged on appeal.

Background

On December 9, 2009, Cohen was walking to a restaurant on the Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, Texas when she allegedly tripped and fell on the sidewalk. There was a 1/2 to 1 inch elevation between two abutting sections of sidewalk, apparently caused by tree root growth underneath the sidewalk. Cohen sued Landry’s for her injuries and asserted premises liability, negligence, and gross negligence causes of action.

Landry’s filed a no-evidence motion for summary judgment as to each of Cohen’s causes of action, asserting because Landry’s did not possess the premises where the injury occurred, it owed Cohen no duty to repair or maintain the sidewalk and that Cohen could produce no evidence to prove any of the elements of premises liability. As is appropriate for a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, no evidence was attached. See Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); Timpte Indus., Inc. v. Gish, 286 S.W.3d 306, 310 (Tex.2009). Before Cohen responded to the motion, Landry’s filed a “Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment” and attached supporting evidence purporting to disprove the element of duty required for Cohen’s premises liability cause of action.1 The evidence purportedly established that the sidewalk was owned by the City of Kemah and was outside the premises leased by Landry’s. In response to both motions, Cohen presented evidence that purportedly shows the City did not have any records concerning “ownership, maintenance or code enforcement” at the Kemah Boardwalk and evidence of a proposal from a private company addressed to Landry’s for repairs to the sidewalk.

The trial court expressly granted the no-evidence summary judgment motion and rendered final summary judgment in Landry’s favor as to all of Cohen’s claims without specifying the grounds. On appeal, Cohen complains only of the trial court’s summary judgment as to her premises liability claim.2

Discussion

In her sole issue, Cohen contends that she produced evidence on each challenged element of her premises liability claim sufficient to avoid summary judgment. We review the trial court’s granting of summary judgment de novo. Valence Operating Co. v. Dorsett, 164 S.W.3d 656, 661 (Tex.2005); Pipkin v. Kroger Tex., L.P., 383 S.W.3d 655, 661 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, pet. denied). In reviewing either a no-evidence or a traditional summary judgment motion, all evidence favorable to the nonmovant is taken as true, and we draw every reasonable inference and resolve all doubts in favor of the nonmovant. Lone Star Air Sys., Ltd. v. Powers, 401 S.W.3d 855, 858 (Tex.App.Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).

[822]*822In a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, the movant asserts there is no evidence of one or more essential elements of the claims for which the non-movant bears the burden of proof at trial. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); Timpte Indus., Inc., 286 S.W.3d at 310. A no-evidence summary judgment is improperly granted if the nonmovant brings forth more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact. Mathis v. Restoration Builders, Inc., 231 S.W.3d 47, 50 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.). We will sustain a no-evidence motion for summary judgment when (1) there is a complete absence of evidence of a vital fact, (2) the court is barred by rules of law or of evidence from giving weight to the only evidence offered to prove a vital fact, (3) the evidence offered to prove a vital fact is no more than a mere scintilla, or (4) the evidence conclusively establishes the opposite of the vital fact. Drake Interiors, L.L.C. v. Thomas, 433 S.W.3d 841 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist;] 2014, no. pet. h.) (citing City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, 816 (Tex.2005)).

More than a scintilla of evidence exists when reasonable and fair-minded individuals could differ in their conclusions. Forbes Inc. v. Granada Biosciences, Inc., 124 S.W.3d 167, 172 (Tex.2003); Mendoza v. Fiesta Mart, Inc., 276 S.W.3d 653, 655 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied). Less than a scintilla of evidence exists if the evidence creates no more than a mere surmise or suspicion of a fact regarding a challenged element. Forbes Inc., 124 S.W.3d at .172; Mendoza, 276 S.W.3d at 655. If the nonmovant does not satisfy its burden of production on the no-evidence motion, there is no need to analyze whether the movant satisfied its traditional summary judgment burden. Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway, 135 S.W.3d 598, 600 (Tex.2004); Pipkin, 383 S.W.3d at 662.

A party moving for traditional summary judgment bears the burden of'showing no genuine issue of material fact exists and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp Advisors, Inc. v. Fielding, 289 S.W.3d 844, 848 (Tex.2009). When reviewing a traditional summary judgment, we take as true all evidence favorable to the nonmovant, indulging every reasonable inference and resolving any doubt in the nonmovant’s favor. Valence Operating Co., 164 S.W.3d at 661.

I. Landry’s supplemental motion gave Cohen fair notice.

The parties dispute whether Landry’s supplemental summary judgment motion merely supplemented the no-evidence motion or was a separate traditional motion for summary judgment.3 Cohen argues the supplemental motion was ambiguous and did not give her fair notice of the basis on which Landry’s was moving for summary judgment.

A motion for summary judgment should state the specific grounds for summary judgment. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c), (i). A motion for summary judgment also must give fair notice of the basis on which summary judgment is sought. Waite v. Woodard, Hall & Primm, P.C., 137 S.W.3d 277

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442 S.W.3d 818, 2014 WL 4071895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wanda-kay-cohen-v-landrys-inc-landrys-crab-shack-inc-and-landrys-texapp-2014.