Specific Hearsay Objections Required for Summary Judgment Evidence

With its motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff submitted affidavits testifying to, among other things, the terms of an unsigned lease agreement with its former tenant, a law firm.  The defendant generally objected to these affidavits as inadmissible hearsay, but failed to specify which portions of the affidavits contained the hearsay.  The Court of Appeals held that, although an affidavit containing hearsay may not support summary judgment, the opposing party must make “specific objections to each component part of a particular piece of evidence to preserve error on appeal.”  Because the defendant simply objected that “the Affidavits contain inadmissible hearsay,” the Court of Appeals held that they had not specifically objected to the allegedly inadmissible statements and concluded that the trial court properly considered the affidavits.

Stovall & Assocs. v. Hibbs Fin. Ctr., Ltd.