601 S.W.3d 704
Tex.2020Background
- Products-liability/wrongful-death suit arising from a 2012 home explosion allegedly caused by corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST); trial set for June 2014.
- Titeflex’s trial counsel, William H. Brewer III, retained Public Opinion Strategies to run a 300-response telephone survey in Lubbock County in May 2014 using third-party vendors (i360 and SSI) and a 20,000-name database.
- Brewer did not notify the court or parties before the survey; plaintiffs characterized the poll as a "push poll" intended to taint the venire and sought sanctions and fee forfeiture.
- Evidence showed Brewer had limited involvement in sampling/administration, used industry professionals, but failed to instruct vendors to exclude witnesses, parties, judges, and court staff; some calls reached family members of case-related persons.
- The trial court found Brewer acted in bad faith and sanctioned him under the court’s inherent authority (ethics hours and >$133,000 in fees/expenses); the court of appeals affirmed.
- The Texas Supreme Court reversed and vacated the sanctions, holding that inherent-authority sanctions require evidence of bad faith and the record lacked that showing here.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether bad faith is required to impose sanctions under a court’s inherent authority | Respondents: courts may sanction abusive litigation practices even absent a specific rule; some urged an alternative "significant interference" standard | Brewer: inherent-authority sanctions require a predicate finding of bad faith | Held: Bad faith is a required predicate to invoke a court’s inherent sanctioning power; sanctions vacated for lack of bad faith |
| Whether Brewer acted in bad faith by commissioning/conducting the pretrial survey | Movants: survey was a disguised push poll designed to influence the jury pool; Brewer knowingly failed to exclude case-connected individuals and concealed the poll | Brewer: engaged qualified, independent vendors; sample and methodology were standard and randomized; no intent to improperly influence; no rule required disclosure | Held: No direct or reasonable circumstantial evidence of improper motive or willful wrongdoing; errors/omissions do not alone prove bad faith |
| Whether an undisclosed pretrial survey that contacts potential jurors or witnesses justifies inherent-authority sanctions | Movants: survey imperiled empaneling an impartial jury and intimidated witnesses; sanctions necessary to protect judicial integrity | Brewer: surveys are legitimate, can be conducted in county of suit for valid methodological reasons; any taint can be addressed by voir dire | Held: Pretrial community surveys are not per se improper; contact alone, absent bad faith, does not justify inherent-authority sanctions |
| Whether Brewer was entitled to a continuance/adequate notice for sanctions hearing (procedural complaint) | Movants: hearing proper; no reversible error | Brewer: lacked proper notice and time for discovery from vendors; remand or new hearing required | Held: Court resolved on substantive ground (no bad faith) and vacated sanctions; did not reach or need to decide remand issue further |
Key Cases Cited
- Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32 (U.S. 1991) (federal Supreme Court: inherent powers are potent, must be used with restraint; fees may be awarded for bad-faith conduct)
- Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752 (U.S. 1980) (inherent-authority sanctions must be predicated on bad-faith conduct)
- In re Bennett, 960 S.W.2d 35 (Tex. 1997) (Texas court upheld inherent-authority sanctions where counsel’s filings and admissions demonstrated deliberate subversion of assignment rules)
- United States v. Collins, 972 F.2d 1385 (5th Cir. 1992) (pretrial district-court telephone survey in venue county did not, by itself, require reversal or a new trial)
- Am. Flood Research, Inc. v. Jones, 192 S.W.3d 581 (Tex. 2006) (appellate courts independently review the entire record for abuse of discretion in sanctions review)