Opinion ID: 895057
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Refund of Earnest Money

Text: DiGiuseppe argues that if the judgment in his favor for specific performance is reversed, he should be allowed to seek recovery on his alternative remedy under the purchase contract of termination and recovery of earnest money he paid. We agree. The court of appeals held that DiGiuseppe waived this option by failing to file a notice of appeal on the issue. However, this Court has held that a litigant who has obtained a favorable judgment and has no reason to complain in the trial court is not required to raise an issue regarding an alternate ground of recovery until an appellate court reverses the judgment. Boyce Iron Works, Inc. v. Sw. Bell Tel. Co., 747 S.W.2d 785, 787 (Tex.1988). Consequently, DiGiuseppe was not required to raise his alternate theory of recovery until the judgment in his favor about which he had no complaint was reversed. Id. As soon as he was aware of the reversal of the judgment by the court of appeals, DiGiuseppe raised the issue of his alternative ground for recovery both in the court of appeals and in this Court. The issue is not waived. Since it has been determined on appeal that DiGiuseppe is not entitled to specific performance as awarded by the trial court, he should be allowed to present his alternative ground for recovery to the trial court for a determination in the first instance as to whether he should recover under that alternative theory.