Time Warner, Inc. and Time Warner Cable, LLC v. Dulio Gonzalez
2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 6233
| Tex. App. | 2014Background
- Gonzalez sued Time Warner entities after tripping on an exposed cable; he served requests for admission about Time Warner’s negligence, causation, Gonzalez’s lack of negligence, and $900,000 in damages.
- Time Warner timely answered with an unverified denial asserting the proper defendant was Time Warner Cable San Antonio, L.P. (not the named Time Warner entities).
- Time Warner San Antonio (not a party) responded to Gonzalez’s requests for admission; Time Warner’s later pleadings identifying Time Warner San Antonio were not verified.
- On the day of trial Gonzalez moved to nonsuit Time Warner San Antonio and argued the requests were deemed admitted as to the named Time Warner defendants; the trial court refused to allow Time Warner to withdraw the deemed admissions.
- The parties waived a jury; the trial court entered judgment for Gonzalez based solely on the deemed admissions for $900,000 plus interest and costs.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred in denying Time Warner’s request to withdraw deemed admissions | Gonzalez: admissions were deemed admitted and established liability and damages; withdrawal should be denied | Time Warner: good cause existed to withdraw because failure to timely verify/substitute parties was a mistake; withdrawal would allow presentation of the merits | Court held denial was an abuse of discretion — withdrawal required because admissions were merits-preclusive, no evidence of flagrant bad faith, no undue prejudice, and permitting withdrawal serves presentation of the merits |
| Whether pre-judgment interest award was erroneous | Gonzalez: not argued in detail here (court resolved on admissions) | Time Warner: challenged award of pre-judgment interest | Not addressed (court reversed and remanded on admissions issue; second issue was not reached) |
Key Cases Cited
- Stelly v. Papania, 927 S.W.2d 620 (Tex. 1996) (standard for abuse of discretion in withdrawal of admissions)
- Wheeler v. Green, 157 S.W.3d 439 (Tex. 2005) (due-process concerns when deemed admissions preclude presentation of the merits)
- Marino v. King, 355 S.W.3d 629 (Tex. 2011) (burden and standards when deemed admissions raise due-process issues)
- TransAmerican Natural Gas Corp. v. Powell, 811 S.W.2d 913 (Tex. 1991) (use of discovery sanctions and due-process limits)
- GTE Commc’ns Sys. Corp. v. Tanner, 856 S.W.2d 725 (Tex. 1993) (burden on party seeking discovery sanctions)
- Morgan v. Timmers Chevrolet, Inc., 1 S.W.3d 803 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999) (reliance on deemed admissions and undue prejudice)
- In re Kellogg-Brown & Root, Inc., 45 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2001) (good-cause analysis for withdrawal of admissions)