Filed: Jul. 11, 2006
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT July 11, 2006 )))))))))))))))))))))))))) Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 05-50325 )))))))))))))))))))))))))) RAMON GONZALEZ, JR., M.D., Plaintiff–Appellant, v. MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL., Defendants, MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL., Defendants–Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 5:03-CV-901 Befor
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT July 11, 2006 )))))))))))))))))))))))))) Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 05-50325 )))))))))))))))))))))))))) RAMON GONZALEZ, JR., M.D., Plaintiff–Appellant, v. MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL., Defendants, MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL., Defendants–Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 5:03-CV-901 Before..
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United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT July 11, 2006
)))))))))))))))))))))))))) Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-50325
))))))))))))))))))))))))))
RAMON GONZALEZ, JR., M.D.,
Plaintiff–Appellant,
v.
MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL.,
Defendants,
MORGAN STANLEY DEAN WITTER, INC.; ET AL.,
Defendants–Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 5:03-CV-901
Before REAVLEY, CLEMENT, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Plaintiff-Appellant Ramon Gonzalez, Jr., appeals the
district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law (“JMOL”) in
favor of Defendants-Appellees Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Inc.
and Carl I. Fuhrmann, Jr. (collectively “Morgan Stanley”). After
Gonzalez presented his case to the jury, the district court found
there was no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIRCUIT RULE 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIRCUIT
RULE 47.5.4.
reasonable jury to find in favor of Gonzalez on his fraud claims.1
More specifically, the district court concluded that Gonzalez had
a non-discretionary account with Morgan Stanley and that he had
not presented evidence of a fraudulent misrepresentation or
material omission, a necessary element of his fraud claims.2
We review a grant of JMOL de novo. Wallace v. Methodist
Hosp. Sys.,
271 F.3d 212, 218 (5th Cir. 2001). JMOL is
appropriate when “a party has been fully heard on an issue and
there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable
jury to find for that party on that issue . . . .” FED. R. CIV. P.
1
Gonzalez brought a claim for common law fraud and a claim
for fraud under the Texas Securities Act. See TEX. REV. CIV. STAT.
ANN. art. 581-33(A)(2).
2
Both the Texas Securities Act and common law fraud claims
require a misrepresentation. The Texas Securities Act states:
A person who offers or sells a security . . . by means of
an untrue statement of a material fact or an omission to
state a material fact necessary in order to make the
statements made, in the light of the circumstances under
which they are made, not misleading, is liable to the
person buying the security from him . . . .
TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 581-33(A)(2).
Under Texas law, in order to bring a common law fraud cause
of action, the plaintiff must show:
(1) a material representation was made; (2) it was false
when made; (3) the speaker either knew it was false, or
made it without knowledge of its truth; (4) the speaker
made it with the intent that it should be acted upon; (5)
the party acted in reliance; and (6) the party was
injured as a result.
Herrmann Holdings Ltd. v. Lucent Techs. Inc.,
302 F.3d 552, 563
n.3 (5th Cir. 2002).
50(a)(1). “We are to review the record as a whole, drawing all
reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party and without
making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence. . . .
[T]here must be more than a mere scintilla of evidence in the
record to render the grant of JMOL inappropriate.”
Wallace, 271
F.3d at 219.
Gonzalez failed to present more than a mere scintilla of
evidence of a fraudulent representation. Gonzalez had a non-
discretionary account with Morgan Stanley: he needed to approve
each transaction before it was effected. The evidence shows that
Gonzalez, or his wife on his behalf, assessed each of Morgan
Stanley’s recommendations and accepted or rejected the
recommendations based on that assessment. The record does not
establish an actionable fraudulent representation regarding the
performance of Gonzalez’s fund. AFFIRMED.