Court Opinion

ID: 9833052
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 22:24:11.624987+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:58.570947
License: Public Domain

On Motion for-Rehearing.
Defendant has filed a lengthy motion for rehearing, urging us to revise our original opinion and render judgment in its favor. It is contended that the evidence indisputably shows that the doctors, whom plaintiff claims made false statements to him as to the nature and extent of his injuries, were connected with the Employees Hospital, an institution owned and operated by an Employees Association and not by the defendant. We used language in the opinion which is susceptible to the construction that it was established that the doctors were employees of defendant; the language so used is misleading. We are not to be understood as having found that as a fact, but we discussed the testimony in connection with defendant’s contention that it was entitled to an instructed verdict. The evidence is conflicting in its nature, as to whose agents and employees the doctors were. There is ample - testimony to have supported a jury finding either way. The question was not submitted and remains undetermined. It would have been error for the court to have instructed a verdict for defendant and, of course, in that state of the record, we could not properly render one for it.
The plaintiff, appellee here, has filed no motion for rehearing, but in a written replication to the motion of defendant, argues that we have erred in holding that there was no competent evidence to support the judgment entered upon a verdict based solely upon a false statement made by the claim agent, at the time the release was executed — a statement that if plaintiff had not fully recovered at the end of five or six months, he would reopen the claim. This was the only fraudulent statement or act submitted to the jury. There were other acts of fraud alleged and supported by some evidence of probative force, but were not submitted. We do not believe that, under the facts here, the release contract could be avoided solely because of the alleged false statement of the claim agent referred to, in view of the fact that plaintiff admits that he knew, when he signed it, there was no such provision in the written instrument.
Plaintiff insists that our holding in this case is in conflict with the rule announced in Texas & N. O. Ry. Co. v. Thompson, Tex.Com.App., 12 S.W.2d 963. We have indicated in the opinion that it is only under certain conditions, which of course must be pleaded, that a written instrument may be contradicted by parol evidence. If we ignore the alleged fraudulent statements made by the physicians and the claim agent, which it is claimed induced plaintiff to agree to accept the amount paid him in settlement of his claim, as was done in the submission of issues to the jury, and rely solely upon the alleged fraudulent statement of the claim agent made at the time the parties were ready to reduce the contract to writing, and the release was so drawn as to omit the promise made to reopen the case under certain conditions, and plaintiff executed it with full knowledge that no such provision was contained in-the instrument, it is difficult for us to see just how he could be heard to complain of its contents, under the pleadings with reference to it, as they now exist. We are unable to harmonize the broad language used in the Thompson case with the rule later announced by the same court in Distributors Investment Co. v. Patton, 130 Tex. 449, 110 S.W.2d 47, adop'ted by the Supreme Court, especially referable to the parol evidence rule so universally recognized by our courts. We feel impelled to follow our Supreme Court and if there are apparent conflicts in its holdings, the last expression must be presumed to have been used with the other in mind.
The motion for rehearing is overruled.