Court Opinion

ID: 9647184
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 13:25:59.552194+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:46.357415
License: Public Domain

*686OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
Both appellant Everman Corporation and appellee Randall Wade Lucas have filed motions for rehearing.
Appellee’s motion complains of this court’s failure to award prejudgment interest. Cavnar v. Quality Control Parking, Inc., 696 S.W.2d 549 (Tex.1985) created a new prejudgment interest rule applicable to all future cases as well as those still in the judicial process involving wrongful death, survival and personal injury actions. Ap-pellee argues this case is one still in the judicial process within Cavnar and therefore he is entitled to prejudgment interest.
For the reasons set forth below we hold appellee is not entitled to prejudgment interest.
In the trial court appellee’s third amended original petition contained a prayer for “judgment of the defendants, jointly and severally, for his damages as alleged herein, for interest on such judgment at the legal rate, for costs of court, and for such other and further relief to which he may show himself justly entitled.”
The following elements of damages were alleged in said petition: past and future physical pain and mental anguish, loss of earnings and earning capacity, medical expenses and disfigurement. The petition contains no allegation of any right to prejudgment interest as damages.
After the jury verdict was returned, ap-pellee moved for judgment on the verdict without in any way requesting an award of prejudgment interest. Following the trial court’s rendition of judgment with post-judgment interest only, appellee made no request of the trial court that the judgment be modified to include prejudgment interest. On appeal to this court in 1981 appel-lee’s brief contained cross-points of error, but none complaining of the trial court’s failure to award prejudgment interest. This court issued its opinion and judgment on April 15, 1982. After motions for rehearing were overruled, applications for writ of error to the supreme court were filed. At no time prior thereto was any request made to this court for prejudgment interest.
While the case was pending in the supreme court, no request was made for an award of prejudgment interest. On July 11, 1985 the supreme court remanded the case to this court for “determination of factual sufficiency” of the evidence to support the jury findings of negligence against Everman Corporation.
Following remand of the case to this court, both parties filed briefs addressing the one point on which the supreme court remanded to this court. Appellee’s brief, filed January 13, 1986, made no claim for prejudgment interest. On February 17, 1986 appellee requested prejudgment interest by letter from appellee’s attorney. The case had been on file since February 17, 1977, and this letter raised the issue of prejudgment interest for the first time.
If appellee properly sought prejudgment * interest in the trial court and properly preserved his right thereto throughout the subsequent proceedings, he would be entitled to prejudgment interest at this time under the supreme court’s decision in Cav-nar.
Before Cavnar the law in Texas was clear that where prejudgment interest is sought at common law as an element of damages, the plaintiff must plead for it. Republic National Bank of Dallas v. Northwest National Bank of Fort Worth, 578 S.W.2d 109 (Tex.1978); Black Lake Pipe Co. v. Union Construction Co., 538 S.W.2d 80 (Tex.1976). Cavnar did not change the general requirement that there be pleadings to support an award of prejudgment interest. Bilderback v. Priestley, 709 S.W.2d 736 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1986, writ pending); Merit Drilling Company v. Honish, 715 S.W.2d 87 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1986); Ford Motor Company v. Durrill, 714 S.W.2d 329 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi, 1986); De Soto v. Matthews, 714 S.W.2d 133 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1986).
In this case appellee’s trial pleading was for judgment for his damages as al*687leged in his petition, for interest on such judgment and for general relief. The prayer for interest on the judgment is a prayer for post-judgment interest, not prejudgment interest. DeSoto v. Matthews, supra; Tennessee Life Insurance Company v. Nelson, 459 S.W.2d 450 (Tex.Civ.App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 1970, no writ). See also City of Galveston v. Russo, 508 S.W.2d 882 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1974, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
Appellee’s prayer for general relief is clearly insufficient by itself to support an award of prejudgment interest. Republic National Bank of Dallas v. Northwest National Bank of Fort Worth, supra; B.A. Mortgage Co. v. McCullough, 590 S.W.2d 955 (Tex.Civ.App.—Fort Worth 1979, no writ). Furthermore, the prayer for general relief will not authorize prejudgment interest where there is a prayer for interest on the judgment followed by a prayer for general relief. A prayer for general relief will not authorize a judgment inconsistent with the special relief sought. Tennessee Life Insurance Company v. Nelson, supra.
For the foregoing reasons we hold appel-lee’s pleadings will not support an award of prejudgment interest.
There are additional reasons why appellee is not entitled to prejudgment interest in this case. Even if his pleadings had been sufficient, he has waived any claim for prejudgment interest by failing to preserve his point of error. Washington v. Walker County, 708 S.W.2d 493 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1986, writ ref’d n.r. e.); Houston Lighting & Power Co. v. Reynolds, 712 S.W.2d 761 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1986, writs pending).
In Washington v. Walker the appellant had requested prejudgment interest in the trial court but failed to bring forth a point of error regarding prejudgment interest in his original brief in the appellate court. On motion for rehearing for the first time he presented to the appellate court his claim for prejudgment interest. The court held the request for prejudgment interest came too late to be considered.
In Houston Lighting & Power Company v. Reynolds the court of appeals on motion for rehearing stated the question of prejudgment interest was not presented to the trial court and was not presented to the appellate court by cross-point in the briefs filed prior to submission of the cause. The court of appeals denied the requested prejudgment interest, stating that it lacked authority to reform the judgment of the trial court on a point of error presented for the first time in a motion for rehearing.
In Allright, Inc. v. Pearson, 711 S.W.2d 686 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1986, writ pending) relied on by appellee, an original opinion was issued by the First Court of Appeals on January 16, 1986. While motion for rehearing was pending, Pearson filed a motion to reform the judgment to allow prejudgment interest. On motion for rehearing the original opinion was withdrawn and a new opinion was issued on April 24, 1986. In that opinion the appellate court summarily granted the motion to reform the judgment. The court did not address any question concerning sufficiency of pleadings, request for prejudgment interest in the trial court, or Pearson’s cross-point of error on appeal. There is no indication in the opinion Pearson had raised the prejudgment interest claim at any time before the motion to reform the judgment.
In our opinion Allright, Inc. v. Pearson is in conflict with the same court’s decisions in Washington v. Walker County, supra, and Houston Lighting & Power Company v. Reynolds, supra, with respect to the necessity of preserving a point of error on appeal. It is also in conflict with the same court’s decision in DeSoto v. Matthews as to adequacy of the pleadings to support an award of prejudgment interest. The opinion on motion for rehearing in Allright, Inc. v. Pearson does not refer to trial pleading, but Lucas has furnished this court with a copy of said trial pleading. That pleading contained a prayer for a judgment for plaintiffs damages and “that plaintiff have interest on the judgment as *688provided by law,” followed by a prayer for general relief. In DeSoto v. Matthews, supra, the court held a prayer “for interest on said judgment at the legal rate” is a prayer for post-judgment interest only and would not support an award of prejudgment interest. In our opinion Washington v. Walker County, supra, and Houston Lighting & Power Company v. Reynolds, supra, were correctly decided and we elect to follow those decisions.
Appellee argues he has not waived his claim to prejudgment interest because he presented his claim “even before submission” of this case. The facts, however, are that the submission appellee refers to is the last submission to this court, after the case had gone completely through this court the first time and completely through the supreme court. It was only on remand to this court that appellee first raised the prejudgment interest claim. We hold this was too late.
There is a final reason for denial of ap-pellee’s prejudgment interest claim. The supreme court remanded this case to this court for the limited purpose of passing on the sufficiency of the evidence to support jury findings of negligence on the part of Everman Corporation. Appellee’s claim for prejudgment interest is not within the scope of the remand to this court. For this additional reason this court is precluded from awarding prejudgment interest.
Appellee’s motion for rehearing is overruled.
Appellant Everman Corporation’s motion for rehearing presents nothing new and is overruled.