Case Title: Fairdale Ltd. v. Sellers

Citation: 651 S.W.2d 725

Docket Number: C-1376

State: texas

Court: Texas Supreme Court

Date: 1982-12-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
651 S.W.2d 725 (1982) FAIRDALE LIMITED, Petitioner, v. Deanne S. SELLERS, Respondent. No. C-1376. Supreme Court of Texas. December 8, 1982. Holtzman & Urquhart, Jack E. Urquhart and Thomas W. Taylor, Houston, for petitioner. Weitinger, Steelhammer & Tucker, Larry S. Lee, Houston, for respondent. CAMPBELL, Justice. This is an appeal of the denial of a motion to set aside a default judgment and to grant a new trial. Deanne S. Sellers was awarded a default judgment against Fairdale, Limited. Fairdale's motion to set aside the default judgment and to grant it a new trial was denied by the trial court. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court judgment. Opinion unpublished. Tex.R.Civ.P. 452. A default judgment must be supported by a petition which states a cause of action. Griswold v. Carlson, 151 Tex. 246, 249 S.W.2d 58 (1952). In determining if a cause of action has been pleaded, the court must be able to determine from the pleadings alone the elements of the cause of action and the relief sought with reasonable certainty and without resorting to other sources. The purpose of this rule is to provide fair notice to the defendant of the basis of a plaintiff's cause of action. Stoner v. Thompson, 578 S.W.2d 679 (Tex.1979). We must first determine whether Sellers' petition states a cause of action. We hold it does not. Sellers pleaded: Although the petition states a copy of the sales contract is attached, it was not attached. The petition does not allege that Sellers contracted with Fairdale, that Fairdale built the townhome, that Fairdale provided or installed the cabinets, that Fairdale was responsible for the hidden or latent defects, or that Fairdale warranted the cabinets. In fact, there is no allegation in the petition of any duty owed by Fairdale to Sellers or an allegation of a breach of any duty. Therefore, the petition does not state a cause of action against Fairdale and the default judgment cannot stand.[1] The judgments of the courts below are reversed and the cause is remanded for trial. ROBERTSON, J., not sitting. [1] Rule 90. Waiver of Defects in Pleading General demurrers shall not be used. Every defect, omission or fault in a pleading either of form or of substance, which is not specifically pointed out by exception in writing and brought to the attention of the judge in the trial court before the instruction or charge to the jury or, in a non-jury case, before the judgment is signed, shall be deemed to have been waived by the party seeking reversal on such account; provided that this rule shall not apply as to any party against whom default judgment is rendered.