Veronica L. Davis and James A. Davis v. State Farm Lloyds Texas and Gerald Krouse
03-16-00091-CV
| Tex. | Oct 6, 2016Background
- Plaintiffs James A. Davis and Veronica L. Davis sued State Farm Lloyds Texas and Gerald Krouse alleging tort and contract claims arising from three automobile claims and two homeowner claims.
- The 345th District Court severed the automobile claims from the homeowner claims on May 22, 2013; automobile claims were assigned to Cause No. D-1-GN-13-001724 in the 250th District Court and contractual/extra-contractual automobile claims were abated pending resolution of negligence claims.
- At trial setting for Cause No. D-1-GN-13-001724, Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Nonsuit (without reserving the previously abated contractual/extra-contractual claims), and the trial court entered an order dismissing that case on November 16, 2015.
- Plaintiffs moved to reinstate; the trial court denied the Motion to Reinstate on January 19, 2016, and later sustained a contest to the affidavit of indigence on March 8, 2016.
- Appellee Krouse argues the dismissal and denial of reinstatement were final and within the trial court’s discretion; appellee contests venue-transfer, continuance, order-modification, indigency, and alleged “determination of mistake” claims for lack of record support.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finality of dismissal after nonsuit and denial of reinstatement | Nonsuit dismissal was improper or not final as to abated claims | Dismissal following nonsuit (no reservation) and denial of reinstatement disposed of all claims, including abated ones | Court held dismissal and denial of reinstatement were final and proper |
| Venue transfer after severance | Plaintiffs sought change of venue (or argue trial court erred by refusing transfer) | No motion to transfer in record after severance; plaintiffs initially chose Travis County so transfer not permitted post-initiation | Court found no error refusing venue transfer; no record of post-severance transfer motion |
| Trial court’s modification/vacation of prior pretrial orders | Plaintiffs argue earlier order modifications were improper | Trial court permissibly modified its July 9, 2014 pretrial order by signing July 15, 2015 order; pretrial rulings are distinct from final adjudications | Court concluded modification of pretrial orders was proper and irrelevant to finality of dismissal |
| Reinstatement and continuance requests | Plaintiffs argued mistake or other grounds warranted reinstatement/continuance | Plaintiffs’ motions lacked sufficient, supported grounds; no record of continuance motion before trial; reinstatement is within trial court discretion | Court denied reinstatement and found no error; continuance/unrecorded claims not shown |
Key Cases Cited
- Brainard v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 216 S.W.3d 809 (Tex. 2006) (authority on abatement of contractual/extra-contractual claims pending resolution of underlying tort)
- Lentino v. Front Natl. Bank, 159 S.W.3d 651 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2005) (discusses finality principles for dismissed claims)
- Hjalmarson v. Langley, 840 S.W.2d 153 (Tex. App.—Waco 1992) (trial court discretion in reinstatement after nonsuit)
- Ashpole v. Millard, 778 S.W.2d 169 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1989) (finality and nonsuit-related principles)
- United States Fidelity & Guar. Co. v. Beuhler, 597 S.W.2d 523 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 1980) (precedent on dismissal and finality)
- McClendon v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 796 S.W.2d 229 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1990) (reinstatement and discretion standards)