The court withdrew its previous opinion in this case, which dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction, and entered a new opinion affirming the trial court’s judgment denying Whitehead’s motion to vacate entry of a foreign judgment against him. The previous opinion held that Whitehead could not maintain a restricted appeal because he had participated in the hearing on the motion to vacate, despite not participating in the proceedings in Indiana that resulted in the underlying judgment. The new opinion holds that Whitehead’s lack of participation in the Indiana proceedings meets the relevant requirement to maintain a restricted appeal. The court affirmed the entry of the Indiana judgment, however, because there was no error by the Texas trial court. The certification of the Indiana judgment was accomplished by the stamped “certified copy” on the final page, meeting the authentication requirements of Texas Rule of Evidence 902.

Whitehead v. Bulldog Battery Corporation, No. 05-12-00449-CV (Memorandum Opinion on Rehearing)

In this suit by Compass Bank to recover money owed under a promissory note, Compass moved for summary judgment.  To support its motion, Compass submitted an affidavit by a custodian of records attaching copies of the note and the trial court granted summary judgment.  The Court of Appeals, however, overturned the trial court’s ruling because it found Compass’s affidavit could not satisfy the personal knowledge requirement.  In particular, “[t]he affidavit did not demonstrate whether [the affiant] was employed by Compass, what her job position and responsibilities were, or how her job duties gave her personal knowledge of the facts.”

Vince Poscente Int’l v. Compass Bank

In 2011, the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of an inverse condemnation suit, holding that the former owners of the property did not have a compensable interest merely because they had the right to repurchase it if the City of McKinney ceased using it as a park. That right was invoked when the city decided to build a library on a portion of the property, but the city defended the subsequent takings suit by arguing that the substance of the claim was really a breach of contract for which no sovereign immunity had been waived. On petition for review, the Texas Supreme Court has rejected that argument, holding that the former owners’ deed conveyed a “defeasible estate” to the City, and that the former owners retained a “conditional future interest” in the property. According to the Supreme Court, that was not simply a contractual right, but a property interest that was indeed compensable as a taking. The Supreme Court therefore reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether and to what extent building the library had actually constituted a taking of the property.

El Dorado Land Co., L.P. v. City of McKinney, No. 11-0834

In 1989, the Texas Legislature passed the Residential Construction Liability Act, which preempts or modifies many types of claims for damages arising from any “construction defect.” In this case, the court of appeals applied the RCLA to bar a homeowner’s claim for lost rental value of his condominium during the long delay occasioned by the remodeling contractor before the contract was finally terminated. Under the statute, a “construction defect” is defined broadly to include any matter “concerning the design, construction, or repair of a new residence, of an alteration of or repair or addition to an existing residence, or of an appurtenance to a residence, on which a person has a complaint against a contractor.” Tex. Prop. Code § 27.001(4). Because the contractor’s delay was one such matter, the court held that the RCLA governed the claim for damages caused by the delay. The plaintiff’s claim could not succeed under the RCLA for two reasons. First, the homeowner had failed to give the contractor notice of the claim, as required by the statute. Second, the plaintiff was seeking to recover the rental value of his own home during the time that completion of the remodeling was delayed, while the RCLA would only allow the homeowner to recover the cost of substitute housing. Id. § 27.004(g)(4). The court of appeals therefore rendered judgment that the plaintiff take nothinig and remanded the case to the trial court to determine the amount of attorney fees the defendant was entitled to under an agreement of the parties.

Timmerman v. Dale, No. 05-11-01690-CV

In this appeal of a trial court’s confirmation of an arbitration award, the Court of Appeals rejected the argument that the trial court should not have confirmed the award because the arbitrators did not permit appellant to obtain the discovery necessary for him to adequately assert his rights.  In so holding, the Court found that the appellant failed to provide the trial court with a complete record of the arbitration proceedings and thus could not establish that the discovery he sought was, in fact, relevant to his claim.

Goldman v Buchanan

With the market for highly caffeinated sugar water pretty much saturated in the United States, a pair of businessmen formed a partnership known as Best One to market energy drinks in Mexico. They targeted Unique Beverage Co., the maker of Wired Energy Drink, to be the supplier for their Mexican enterprise. But that relationship fell apart after negotiations failed with the Mexican buyer, leading the partners to file suit against Unique and its representatives for breach of contract, tortious interference, and fraud.

The defendants filed a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, challenging every element of Best One’s causes of action. The plaintiffs responded by describing and attaching 90 pages of emails, then stating that they demonstrated “genuine issues as to material facts and the motions for summary judgment should be denied.” The district granted summary judgment for the defendants, and the court of appeals affirmed. Because Best One’s response failed to address the challenged elements of its claims, and furthermore failed to direct the trial court to “any page number, quote, affidavit or e-mail” within the attached exhibits, the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of demonstrating that the evidence actually responded to the defendants’ no-evidence motion.

Levine v. Unique Beverage Co., LLC, No. 05-11-01467-CV

The court reversed a county court’s judgment in favor of a resident in a forcible detainer action and rendered judgment of possession in favor of the bank. After acquiring the property at a foreclosure sale and attempting to remove Mr. Carman, OneWest file a forcible detainer action. At trial OneWest provided the deed of trust, the substitute trustee’s deed, and notices to vacate the property that were served on Carman. The trial court found that OneWest did not have the right to possess, but noted that it could go through the process again with the correct paperwork. On appeal, the court held that OneWest had a claim to immediate possession of the property based on the deed of trust, which stated that Carman would become a tenant-at-sufferance in the case of a foreclosure and that OneWest could remove Carman from the property. This served as an independent basis on which the trial court should have determined that OneWest was entitled to immediate possession of the property.

OneWest Bank v. Carman, No. 05-12-00100-CV

In 2004, the Byers family hired Jered Custom Homes (“JCM”) to build their home.  Since Brad Byers worked for an engineering firm, he had his own company design the foundation. To protect itself, JCM included a provision in its contract with the Byerses that Brad Byers and his firm would be entirely responsible for the design and sufficiency of the foundation and that the Byerses would be responsible for all necessary soil and subsoil tests.  Two years later, the Byerses sold their home to appellant, Kay Yost.  Shortly after moving in, however, Yost noticed that the locks installed in the doors no longer fit.  Yost hired a series of inspectors, and ultimately concluded that the house’s foundation had suffered cracking caused by issues with its design with an estimated cost of repair of $524,563.  Yost sued JCM for damages associated with the house, but JCM moved for a no evidence summary judgment and the court granted it, ordering that Yost take nothing.

On appeal, the Court agreed with the trial judge’s decision.  Yost argued that the affidavits of her two experts provided sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment.  But the Court of Appeals found that nothing in the expert reports presented any evidence that JCM itself was negligent in constructing the house’s foundation in accordance with the design prepared by Byers’ employer.  Indeed, although Yost’s expert report stated that it is customary practice in the home construction industry for a geotechnical report to be obtained and reviewed, “he does not state who should review it or utilize its information.”  Nevertheless, the Court reversed the trial judge’s decision on Yost’s claim for breach of the implied warranty of habitability because Yost’s failure to produce documents evidencing that the how was not uninhabitable did not constitute a judicial admission.

Yost v. Jered Custom Homes

Timothy Brown, a professional golfer, started a company and then sold it to Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc. (“GTPS”).  Brown then worked for GTPS for a while, but the relationship deteriorated and he left the company shortly thereafter.  Brown, however, remained bound by a non-compete agreement with GTPS.  Still, he entered into discussions with Jeff Blankinship to pursue a similar idea to his former company, but this time apart from GTPS.  As Brown negotiated a contract with Blankinship, Brown had his lawyer, Gary Blanscet, review the agreement.  Blanscet required changes to the agreement to reflect Brown’s prior dealings with GTPS.  Blankinship signed the revised agreement without reading it and, a week later, found out about GTPS.  Blankinship sued Brown and Blanscet for, among other things, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.  The trial court granted Blanscet’s no evidence summary judgment motion.  Later, the jury found in favor of Blankinship as against Brown.  Blankinship appealed the trial court’s summary judgment decision concerning Blanscet.

On appeal, the Court found that Blankinship could not establish the reliance element of his causes of action because, among other things, Blankinship admitted at trial that he never read the contract before he signed it.  Blankinship tried to argue that Blanscet had a duty to him under the Texas Rules of Professional Conduct not to make any misrepresentations, but the Court of Appeals found that a non-client cannot rely on an attorney’s representation unless the attorney invites that reliance, such as when the attorney issues an opinion letter or some other type of evaluation.  Because that was not the case here, the Court upheld the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Blanscet.

Blankinship v. Brown

To hold a professional liable for negligent misrepresentation, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant provided the information “to a known party for a known purpose.” McCamish, Martin, Brown & Loeffler v. FE. Appling Interests, 991 S.W.2d 787, 794 (Tex, 1999). The “known party” requirement is satisfied where the professional is “aware of the nonclient and intends that the nonclient rely on the information.” Id. In this case, attorney William Ravkind allegedly filled out a “Verification of Deposit” form stating that he was the depository of two trust accounts belonging to his client. (Ravkind claimed his signature was forged.) Bank of Texas claimed that information was false, and that it relied upon it deciding to make a $2 million loan to the client, who later defaulted. But Ravkind had not provided the verification form to Bank of Texas. Instead, the form was addressed to an individual at Bright Mortgage, and it was apparently packaged and presented to Bank of Texas by yet another mortgage company. The trial court granted Ravkind’s no-evidence motion for summary judgment, and the court of appeals affirmed, holding that the bank could not demonstrate Ravkind made a representation to it by proof that it was the practice of the lending industry to receive and rely on documents submitted to other financial institutions in connection with the loan.

Bank of Texas, N.A. v. Ravkind, No. 05-11-01123-CV

In July 2008, the Dean Group entered into a standard listing agreement agreement to sell Metal Systems, Inc, including the real estate owned by Metal Systems.  TDG sued Metal Systems in May 2010 for breach of contract and quantum meruit, and the trial court dismissed these claims on summary judgment.  TDG appealed.  On appeal, Metal argued that the contract claim failed because TDG could present no evidence of a valid, enforceable contract on the ground that the listing agreement included real estate and TDG presented no evidence that it held the real estate licenses required by the Texas Real Estate License Act.  The Court agreed, finding that TDG did not “allege, prove, or create a fact issue that it was a real estate license holder at the time the Agreement was signed.”  It therefore upheld the trial court’s dismissal.

Dean A. Smith Sales v. Metal Systems

The court granted a writ of mandamus to preventing an administrative judge from granting a rehearing of her recusal order. Relator Amos filed a motion to recuse the trial judge presiding in her criminal case, and the administrative judge assigned to hear the motion orally found “the appearance of impropriety, the appearance of prejudice . . . sufficient” to justify recusal. The administrative judge ordered recusal and transferred the case to a new judge. The trial judge filed a motion for reconsideration challenging the merits and arguing that she had not received notice of the hearing and the opportunity to present or challenge evidence. The administrative judge granted the motion for reconsideration and set a new hearing on the motion to recuse. Amos filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking relief.

The court held that once a judge refers a motion to recuse to another judge, the challenged judge can take no further action, especially to influence the outcome of the matter. Moreover, once the administrative judge decided the motion and transferred the case to a new judge, she no longer had authority over the matter. Finally, the trial judge had no due process interested in presiding over the particular case. Thus, the motion for reconsideration was improper and any action on that motion was contrary to settled law. Mandamus was an appropriate remedy to prevent waste of judicial resources and interference with the new court’s jurisdiction over the case.

In Re Amos, No. 05-12-01500-CV

This breach of contract case arises out of an inverse condemnation action filed by Continental Foods against the state of Texas.  In that action, Continental alleged that the state had acquired property for a highway expansion and did not compensate it for its loss of value under its lease with Rossmore Enterprises.  The Court of Appeals ruled that the lease’s language stated that the lease terminated upon condemnation, leaving Continental with no compensable interest to protect.  Continental then sued Rossmore arguing that its landlord had breached the lease in two ways: (1) by not requiring the state to proceed with the condemnation in a Special Commissioner’s hearing so Continental could receive compensation and (2) by not tendering to Continental its share of the condemnation proceeds.  Rossmore moved for summary judgment on the ground that the doctrine of collateral estoppel barred Continental’s claim because its right to condemnation had already been decided.  The Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that “[n]othing in our prior opinion determined the parties’ obligation under the Master Lease before condemnation.”  Accordingly, Continental’s claim was not barred by collateral estoppel.

Continental Foods v. Rossmore Enterprises

Duffy McKenzie sued Christopher Utz and several of Utz’s companies, seeking to recover unpaid wages. The defendants did not answer, and McKenzie obtained a default judgment against them for approximately $34,000. Thirty days later, the defendants filed a motion for new trial, seeking to set aside the judgment under the familiar Craddock standards. McKenzie opposed the motion, eliciting testimony at the hearing that Utz had simply put the lawsuit in his drawer because did not want to deal with it. The trial court denied the motion for new trial, and the court of appeals affirmed. Although the court noted the defendants’ evidence that they had not answered because they thought the parties were trying to settle the lawsuit, the conflict between that evidence and the testimony during the hearing was sufficient basis for the trial court to have found that the failure to appear was intentional or the result of conscious indifference. When the evidence conflicts, the court held, the trial court was not required to accept the movant’s version of events. The court of appeals also ruled against the defendants on a motion for sanctions, holding that various alleged misstatements in McKenzie’s appellate brief were insufficient to support any sanctions.

Utz v. McKenzie, No. 05-11-01647-CV

The court affirmed a take-nothing summary judgment in favor of DCAD in a property tax dispute. The property owner challenged the appraisal value of his property as both unequal and excessive. DCAD filed a no-evidence motion for summary judgment arguing that the appraised value was neither excessive nor unequal. In responsive briefing, the owner stated that its property manager and tax representative would testify that the appraisal values do not reflect the accurate market values, and attached an affidavit from him verifying the truth of statements in the response. The trial court granted summary judgment.

On appeal, the court held that the owner’s evidence failed because an affidavit in which a party attempts to verify the truth and correctness of all “allegations and facts” in a response to a motion for summary judgment is not competent summary judgment evidence. Moreover, the response did not state what the property manager believed the market value actually was or whether he would testify that the appraisal value was excessive or unequal. Therefore, the owner did not raise a fact issue and summary judgment was proper.

WOL+MED v. DCAD, No. 05-12-00011-CV