### NUM BER 13-08- 0001 5-CV 

## COURT OF A PP EA LS T H I R T E E N T H D I S T R I C T O F T E X AS C OR P U S C H R I S T I - E D I N B U R G
TE RR Y J A M ES R ICH A RD , A pp ellan t,
v . JESS IE N IXON T UR NER , A pp ellee.
On ap pe al f rom th e 6 0th D istrict Co urt of Je ffe rson C ou nty , T exas . 

## ME MOR A ND UM OP IN ION Be fo re C hie f J us tice Vald ez an d Ju stice s Y añ ez an d Be na v ide s

M emo rand um Opin ion b y Ju stice Ya ñe z App ellant , Te rry

Jame s Richard, cha llenges the trial cou rt's o rder grant ing summ ary jud g ment i n fav or

of appel lee , J ess ie Ni x on T ur ner
. By tw o i ss ues, R ic hard c ontends that his ac ti ons in sec ur ing ser v ic e of c it ati on on Turner cons ti tuted due dil ig ence, and the t ri al
c ou rt "c om mi tt ed g ros s e r ror " i n g ran ti ng t he s um ma r y j ud g me nt

. W e affi r m. I. B A CKGRO UND On Au gust 8, 200 4, Richard an d T urne r w ere involv ed in a vehicle collision. On JulyW e no t e t hat i n hi s aff i dav i t , R i char d cl ai m ed t hat he f axed t he r epor t t o hi s at t or ney i n O ct ober , 1 2007. H owev er , i n hi s aff i dav i t , t r i al counsel st at es t hat he r ecei v ed T ur ner ' s add r ess f r om R i char d i n Jun e of 2 00 7, an d T urn er w as se rved i n S ep t em be r of 20 07

. T urn er p o i n ts o u t th a t t he fax w he rei n R i c ha rd i nf or m ed h i s t r i al coun sel of T ur ner ' s addr ess est abl i shes t hat t r i al coun sel r ecei v ed t he f ax on June 7, 200 7. T her ef or e, t he e v i dence est abl i shes t hat R i char d l ear ned T ur ner ' s add r ess on orbef or e Jun e 7, 200 7.

G r ant v. D e Le on , 786 S. W

. 2d 2 59, 260 ( T ex. 199 0) ( per cur i am ) ( ci t i ng Zal e Cor p. v. R osenba um , 2 52 0 S

. W

. 2d 88 9, 89 0 (T ex
. 19 75 ) ( pe r cu ri am ))

. 2 18, 2 006, Ri chard fil ed a law su it a g ain st Turner cl aimi ng personal i nju ry and damag es all eg edl y caused in the col li si on. Turner w as ser v ed w it h proces s o f cit ati on on September 8 , 2 0 0 7

. T u r n e r f il e d h e r a n s we r a s s e rt in g t h e st a t u t e o f li m it a t io n s a s a n a f

f ir m a t ive defense, and on Oct ober 31, 2007, Turner f ile d a moti on for summar y j udg ment. In her moti on, Tur ner

arg ued t hat s he had not been ser v ed w it hin the appl ic abl e li mita ti ons per iod and t hat R ic hard di d notus e due dil ig ence in e xec uti ng se rv ic e. Ri chard respon ded
ass erti ng thathe e x er ci sed due di li g ence, and as summar y j udg ment ev ide n ce , he attac hed hi s o w n aff ida v it , an aff ida v itf ro m his tri al coun sel , and a re por t t hat h e fax ed to his att or ney

on J une 13, 2007. The repor t s how s Tur ner 's address , and i ncl udes a w ri tten 1 not e signed by R ichard sta ting, "I did a little resea rch[.] Her orig inal ad dress on the Po lice
re por t @ [si c] the t ime of the ac ci dent w as *** El ma. N ow i ts [si c] li sti ng ** * E lma. H ope thi s i s t he i nfo y ou need !" The tr ial co urt g ra nted Turner 's moti on for summar y jud g ment. This appeal ens ued. II. D U E D I LI GE NCE W hen a par

ty fil es it s p e ti ti o n within the li mita ti ons per iod , s er v ic e out si de of the li mita ti ons per iod may

st il l be v a lid if the pla int iff ex er ci ses due dil ig ence in ex ecut ing
serv ice on th e def end ant

. If th e de fend antaf f irmatively

plead s the de fense of

limitation s, 2 and s how s t hat s er

v ic e w as not t imel y , t he burden s hifts to th e p la in tiff to prov e dueP ro u lxv . W e lls , 235 S

. W

. 3d 213, 216 ( T ex. 200 7) ( per cur i am ) ( ci t i ng M ur r ay v. San Jaci

nt o Agency, 3 In c ., 80 0 S

. W

. 2d 82 6, 83 0 (T ex
. 19 90 ))

.

Tayl or v. Thom pson , 4 S

. W

. 3d 63 , 65 (T ex
. A pp
. –H ou s t on [ 1s t D i s t

. ] 19 99 , pe t

. de ni ed ). 4 P ro u lx , 2 3 5 S .W .3 d a t 2 1 6 ; see McC ord v. D odds , 6 9 S .W .3 d 2 3 0 , 2 3 3 (T e x . A p p .– C o rp u s C h ris ti 5 2001, pet

. den i ed) ( " [ I ] fno excuse i s off er ed f or a del ay or i f t he l apse oft i m e an d t he p l ai nt i ff ' s act s ar e such as co nc l us i vel y ne ga t e d i l i ge nc e, l ac k of di l i ge nc e w i l l be fou nd as a m att er of l aw
. " ).

Tayl or , 4 S. W

. 3d a t 65 ( ci t i ng Jim enezv. C ount y of Val Verde , 993 S. W

. 2d 1 67, 169 ( T ex. App. –San 6 A nton i o 1 99 9, pe t

. de ni ed ))

.

S e e P ro u lx , 235 S. W

. 3d a t 216

. 7 3 dil ig ence. "The tw o c ontroll ing factors t hat e st abl is h due dil ig ence are ( 1) w hether the 3 pla int iff acted as an ordin ar y pr udent person w oul d ac t und er the same c ircums tanc es and (2 ) w hether

the pla int iff acted dil ig ently u p u nti l the t ime the d efendant w as ser v ed." A 4 plaint if f 's ex plan ation for a dela y in serv ing citation is usua lly a question of fact; h owev er, "the plai nti ff 's ex pla nati on of its ser v ic e ef forts m ay

demonstrate a lack

of due di li g ence as a matt er of law , as w hen one or more lap ses betw een ser v ic e efforts are unex pla ine d or patent ly unreason abl e." F urther more, a pl ain ti ff 's duty of due dil ig ence beg ins on the dat e 5 he fil es sui t and co nti nues unti l ser v ic e i s e x ecut ed. 6 It is undi sput ed th at al thoug h R ic hard fil ed s uitw it hin the li mita ti ons per iod , he
ser v ed Turner w it h ci tati on of proces s t hir teen months after

the li mita ti ons per iod ex pired. There fo r e , o n c e T u r n e r ra i s e d t h e a ffi r ma t i v e d e fe n s e o f t h e s t a t u t e o f l i mi t a t i o n s , t he burden s hifted to R ic hard to prov e due dil ig ence. 7 Richard argues tha t in the two af f idavits attach ed to his respon se to sum ma ry jud g ment, he es tabl is hed t hat a que st ion of fact ex is ted reg ardin g w hether he e x er ci sed due dilig ence in executing serv ice af ter the statu te of

limitation s ex pired. Trial coun sel's aff ida v itst ates that

on J uly 21, 2006, ci tati on of

serv ic e w as is sued, but thaton A ug ust4, 2006, itw as re tur ned t o the off ic e of the dis tr ic t c ler k, w it h a n otati on th at t he "hous e w asSee Ashl ey v. H aw kins , 52 T ex. Sup. C t

. J. 954, 200 9 T ex. LEX I S 461, at * 12- 13 ( T ex. June 26, 8 2009) ( m ot i on f or r ehear i ng f i l ed) ( st at i ng t hat i ft he p l ai nt i ff ' s at t or ney spen t 20 hour s spr ead ov er an ei ght m on t h p eri od se arc hi ng for t he de fen da nt' s w he rea bo uts, t he se arc h w as ne ver di l i ge nt)

. 4 v acant ." Tri al couns el sta tes that "therea fter [ Ri chard] c ontac ted t he U nit ed St ates Pos tal [S]e rv ice in Bea um ont , Te x as to det ermin e [T urne r's] n ew add ress," b ut w as un successf ul. Tri al couns el does not prov ide a spec ific date w hen Ri chard cont act ed the post al ser v ic e. Tri al couns el sta tes thathe "did a s earch on [h is ] c omputer ov er a pe ri od of sev eral months to as cer tai n [Tur ner 's ] addre ss ," but w as unsuc ces sful. H ow ev er , t ri al couns el does not spec ify w hen he condu ct e d t h e research, or how l ong hi s s earch took

. In hi s a ff ida v it , Ri chard c lai med g enerall y thati n 2006 and i n 2007, he c ontac ted t he U nit ed St ates Pos tal Ser v ic e s ev eral ti mes t o ai d i n hi s e fforts to l ocat e Tur ner
. Ri chard n e it h e r states how
ma ny time s he actu ally conta cted th e p o s t a l serv ice nor me ntion s the spe cif ic date s. Finally , trial counse l states in his af f idavit that in June , 200 7, Richard forw arde d T urne r's address to him, and tr ial co unsel req uest ed i ss uance of a s econd ci tati on on September 7, 20 07. Turner

w as ser v ed on September

8, 2007. The summar

y j u d g me n t

e v i d ence est abl is hed a del ay of thi rt een mont hs in obtai nin g
serv ice on T urne r af

ter the limitation s period e x pired. In order to ov ercom e the summ ary judgme nt, Richa rd had to raise a fact issue as to diligence. How ever, in his summ ary jud g ment ev ide nce, R ic hard does not prov ide a v ali d or reason abl e ex pla nati on for the thi rt een- month g ap. I nst ead, Ri chard reli es on g eneral sta tements thathe c ontac ted t he 8 postoff ic e on sev eral occ asi ons and that hi s a ttor ney co nduct ed research on hi s c omputer
sev eral ti mes i n an effort to loc ate Turner 's address
. How ev er , nei ther R ic hard nor

hi s t ri al
couns el sta te du ri ng w hat p er iod of ti me thes e att empts at l ocat ing Turn er oc cur re d. Moreover, a "f lurry

of inef fective activ ity

doe s not con stitute due dilig ence if easilyC art er v. MacF adyen , 93 S

. W

. 3d 30 7, 31 4-1 5 ( T ex
. A pp
. –H ou s t on [ 14 t h D i s t

. ] 20 02 , pe t

. de ni ed ); 9 see W ebst er

v. Thom as , 5 S. W

. 3d 2 87, 291 ( T ex. App–H oust on [ 14t h Di st

. ] 199 9, no pet

. ) ( concl udi ng t hat p la in tif fd id n o t e x e r c is e d u e d ilig e n c e b e c a u s e h is e ff o r ts to o b ta in s e r v ic e o fc ita tio n w e r e n o t c a r e f u l, p e rs i s te n t, d e v o te d o r p a in s ta k i n g ); see a lso Ashl ey , 200 9 T ex. LEX I S 461, at * 14 ( com m ent i ng t hat t he pl ai nt i ffonl y at t em pt ed se r v i ce bym ai l and by del i v er y and t hat i ft he p l ai nt i ffwas un abl e t o l oca t e t he de fen da nt, i t sh ou l d n ot ha ve o verl oo k ed an othe r m etho d o f se rvi c e).

See Ashl ey , 200 9 T ex. LEX I S 461, at * 14. 10 See W i t t

v. H eat on , 10 S. W

. 3d 4 35, 438 ( T ex. App. –Beaum ont 200 0, no pet

. ) ( " An unexp l ai ned 11 d e l a y in s e rv i c e o f p ro c e s s c o n s ti tu te s a l a c k o f d u e d i l i g e n c e a s a m a tte r o f l a w ."); Tayl or , 4 S. W

. 3d a t 65- 66 (co nc l ud i ng tha t a n un ex pl ai ne d fou r- m on t h de l ay from fi l i ng s ui t to effec t ua t i ng se rvi c e n eg ated di l i ge nc e).

See R odr

i guez v. Tinsm an & H ouser , I nc. , 1 3 S .W .3 d 4 7 , 5 0 ( T e x . A p p .– S a n A n to n i o 1 9 9 9 , p e t. 12 den i ed ) (provi di ng t hat not al l off er ed e xpl anat i ons o fdel ay r ai se a f act i ssue a bout di l i gence and t hat t he ge ne ral rul e i s t ha t a fac t i s s ue ex i s t s i f t he offe red ex pl an ati on i s rea s on ab l e o r val i d); Tay l or , 4 S. W

. 3d a t 6 5 ( " T h e d u ty t o u s e d u e d ilig e n c e c o n t i n u e s f r o m th e d a te th e s u it is f ile d u n til th e d a te th e d e f e n d a n t is s erve d." ). S e e P ro u lx , 2 3 5 S .W .3 d a t 2 1 6 ; s ee al s o M c C ord , 69 S. W

. 3d a t 233

.

13 W e w ill n o t a d d r e s s R ic h a r d 's s e c o n d is s u e a s it is n o t n e c e s s a r y to th e d is p o s itio n o fth is a p p e a l. 14 See T EX
. R. A PP
. P. 47. 1. 5 available an d m o re ef

fective alternat iv es are ignored. " Here, Richard unsu ccessf ully 9 attempt ed s er

v ic e on Turner

onc e i n Aug ust , 200 6. How e ver, after "se v eral" faile d attempt s a t l ocat ing Turn er 's address , R ic hard n eit her made an y

att empts to effectuate
ser v ic e by hi ri ng a pr iv ate p ro ces s s er v er nor di d he cons ide r the a lt er nati v e of subs ti tuted
servic e t h ro ugh citation bypub lication. Furthermo re, Richard's att orne y state s in his 10 aff ida v itthathe recei v ed Tur ner 's addres s in June, 2007, but he did not req uestse rv ic e on Turner unti l September 7, 20 07. Tr ial co unsel offers n o ex pla nati on for the l apse from 11
w hen he received T urne r's address un til he requeste d servi c e o f citation . Richard's
sum ma ry judgme nt ev iden ce doe s not esta blish tha t Richard had a v alid o r r e a s o nab le
ex pla nation f o r a ll l apses of ti me betw een Au g ust4, 2006 an d Sept ember 7, 2007. 12 T here fore, we conclude thatt he record esta blishes as a ma tter of law lack of due dilig ence in obtai nin g se rv ic e of ci tati on. W e ov er ru le Ri chard's first is sue. 13 146 III . C ONCL US I ON Accordin gly , w e af

f irm the trial court's summ aryjudgmen t in favor of T urne r.

_________

_________

___ LINDA REYNA Y

AÑEZ, J u s t i c e Me moran dum Opi nio n del iv ered and filed thi s t he 31s t day

of Aug ust , 200 9.