Court Opinion

ID: 9769730
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 15:00:13.099658+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:07.253866
License: Public Domain

ANTONIO G. CANTU, Justice
(Assigned), dissenting.
I continue to respectfully dissent for the reasons already adequately expressed.
DUNCAN, Justice, dissenting on denial of motion for rehearing en banc.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s denial of rehearing en banc. In a published opinion, the majority has reversed a take-nothing judgment against a party who is neither an appellant nor an appellee — without consideration of, and in direct conflict with, the Supreme Court of Texas’ decision in Plas-Tex, Inc. v. U.S. Steel Corp., 772 S.W.2d 442 (Tex.1989). While this may be a “mere procedural error,” in the view of some members of the bench and bar, in my view it is one of critical importance and one that demands uniform application in all appeals— particularly all appeals within a single court.
Although the majority cites no cases, it apparently holds that it can reverse the take-nothing judgment against Ruth Mahl in her defamation claim against United Way, because (1) she is an appellee, and (2) Helping Hands sought and was granted a reversal of the judgment against it on its business disparagement claim. If the first ground were true, and Mahl were an appellee, the majority would be correct without regard to the second ground. See and compare Donwerth v. Preston II Chrysler-Dodge, Inc., 775 S.W.2d 634, 639 (Tex.1989) (“Unless an appellant limits his appeal pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 40(a)(4), an appellee may complain by cross-point in his brief in the court of appeals, without perfecting an independent appeal, of any error in the trial court as between appellant and appellee”) (emphasis added); id. at 640 (Ray, J., concurring) (“the matters presented by the appellee’s cross-points must have actually been in controversy in the suit as contested matters between the appellant and the appel-lee ”) (emphasis added). But, as indicated by the emphasis in the parentheticals, this rule only permits the appellee, Helping Hands, to broaden the scope of the appeal through cross-points. It does not permit Mahl to do so because she is not an appellee, as established by at least three indisputable facts— United Way did not name Mahl in its cost bond or in its brief; it did not seek reversal of the take-nothing judgment against Mahl on her defamation claim; and that claim is separate and distinct from Helping Hands’ business disparagement claim. The applicable rule is not that set forth in Donwerth, as the majority implicitly holds, but the court’s later decision in Plas-Tex.
In Plas-Tex, Fiberex sued United States Steel, the manufacturer of resin used by Fiberex in its construction of fiberglass pools, and Plas-Tex, the reseller of the resin, because the resin allegedly caused the pools to delaminate. 772 S.W.2d at 443. Plas-Tex *724cross-claimed against United States Steel for indemnity for its attorney’s fees. Id. As to Fiberex’s claim against United States Steel, the trial court rendered judgment on the jury’s verdict in favor of Fiberex. Id. But on Fiberex’s claim against Plas-Tex, the trial court rendered a take-nothing judgment, again in accordance with the jury’s verdict. Id. The trial court also rendered judgment in favor of Plas-Tex on its attorney’s fees claim against United States Steel. Id. United States Steel appealed, and the court of appeals reversed and remanded the entire cause. Id.
Both Fiberex and Plas-Tex filed applications for writ of error. Plas-Tex’s application argued that the court of appeals erred in reversing its attorney’s fee award and further erred in reversing the take-nothing judgment in its favor on Fiberex’s claim against it. Id. The supreme court disagreed with Plas-Tex’s first point, holding that the court of appeals properly reversed the attorney’s fees award because it was dependent upon Fiberex’s judgment against United States Steel, which the court agreed must be reversed. Id. at 446. However, the supreme court agreed with Plas-Tex on its second point, holding that Plas-Tex fell within the general rule providing that “when one party appeals from a judgment, a reversal as to that party will not justify a reversal as to other nonappealing parties” and outside the exception recognized when “the rights of the appealing and nonappealing parties are so interwoven or dependent on eaeh other as to require a reversal of the entire judgment.” Id. (citing Turner, Collie & Braden, Inc. v. Brookhollow, Inc., 642 S.W.2d 160, 166 (Tex. 1982)).
In this case, Mahl’s defamation claim, just like Fiberex’s claim against Plas-Tex, arises out of the same nucleus of facts as Helping Hands’ business disparagement claim, but it is not so interwoven with, or dependent upon, Helping Hands’ similar claim as to require reversal of the entire judgment. To the contrary, Mahl’s defamation claim is completely separate and distinet from Helping Hands’ business disparagement claim. The fact that the same evidentiary error may affect both is inconsequential, just as the errors affecting Fiberex’s judgment against United States Steel were immaterial to the unappealed take-nothing judgment on Fibe-rex’s claim against Plas-Tex. I, therefore, would grant rehearing en banc so that the full court may consider and thoughtfully and unequivocally decide this important procedural point in a manner that is both consistent with Plas-Tex and dispositive so long as the current rules are operative.
GREEN and ANGELINI, JJ„ Join.