DTPA Recovery Denied in Malpractice Case

The Weavers hired attorney Holliday to pursue claims relating to a car accident.  The Weavers later sued Holliday for breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, fraud, and violation of the DTPA, alleging that Holliday settled an insurance claim without the Weavers’ consent and converted the money for personal use.  The trial court found in favor of the Weavers on all four claims, and the Weavers elected to recover on the DTPA claim.  The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s judgment on the DTPA claim, and rendered judgment for the Weavers on the breach of fiduciary duty claim.  The Court of Appeals noted that there was “no evidence that [Holliday’s] acceptance of the settlement payments…or his attorney’s fees, constituted a pecuniary loss to the Weavers that was caused by Holliday’s DTPA violations as opposed to the other claimed wrongful conduct.”  Thus, the evidence was legally insufficient to support the award of damages under the DTPA because there was no evidence that the DTPA violations were a producing cause of the Weavers’ claimed pecuniary loss.

Holliday v. Weaver, No. 05-10-01614-CV