Opinion By Justice FILLMORE.
In this appeal arising from a legal malpractice lawsuit, appellant Candace Gunn, individually, and as next friend of Gary Gunn, Sr., asserts the trial court erred by (1) granting a "death penalty" discovery sanction against appellant for failure to produce expert reports pursuant to a scheduling order and denying appellant's motion to reconsider, (2) granting the
On October 23, 1999, Gary Gunn, Sr. was injured when the rear wheel came off the motorcycle he was riding. In December 1999, Gary Gunn, Sr. and appellant Candace Gunn retained the Fuqua appellees to represent them and their children in bringing claims arising from the motorcycle accident, and signed an attorney employment contract with the Fuqua appellees on December 14, 1999. In 2000, a lawsuit was filed claiming product liability and negligent service of the motorcycle: Candace Gunn, Individually and as Next Friend for Gary Don Gunn, Sr., and as Next Friend for Derek Daniel Gunn, a Minor, Gary Don Gunn, Jr., Kimberly Kaye Reifein, and Christina Dawn Jones v. BMW of North America, Inc., Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, and Two Wheel World-Garland, Inc., Cause No. 00-03168-C, 68th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas.
In October 2001, Two Wheel World settled plaintiffs' claims in cause number 00-03168-C concerning negligent service of the motorcycle. A disagreement subsequently arose between the Fuqua appellees and Ed P. Cox of E.P.C. Engineering Resources, Inc., the expert hired by the Fuqua appellees in cause number 00-03168-C. As a result of the disagreement, the Fuqua appellees assisted appellant in locating another attorney to represent her. The Tracy appellees agreed to represent appellant.
On December 22, 2003, appellant as next friend of Gary Gunn, Sr., represented by the Tracy appellees, filed her original complaint in federal court alleging claims of product liability and seeking damages allegedly sustained by Gary Gunn, Sr. as a result of the motorcycle accident: Candace Gunn as Next Friend of Gary Don Gunn, Sr., An Incapacitated Adult v. Bayerische Motoren Werk Aktiengesellschaft and BMW of North America, LLC (f/k/a BMW of North America, Inc.), Cause No. 2-03-CV-460, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Neither Candace Gunn, individually, nor the children of Candace and Gary Gunn, Sr. (Derek Daniel Gunn, Gary Don Gunn, Jr., Kimberly Kaye Reifein, and Christina Dawn Jones) were plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit filed against BMW.
The Fuqua appellees filed, on behalf of appellant, individually and as next friend of Gary Gunn, Sr., and plaintiffs Derek Daniel Gunn, Gary Don Gunn, Jr., Kimberly Kaye Reifein, and Christina Dawn Jones, a motion for nonsuit of the remaining
The record contains a letter agreement dated August 30, 2004 from BMW's counsel, and signed by appellee Todd Tracy, setting out the terms for settlement with BMW of Gary Gunn, Sr.'s claims brought in the federal court lawsuit through appellant as his next friend. Pursuant to stipulation of the parties, the federal court lawsuit, cause number 2-03-CV-460, was dismissed without prejudice by order signed October 13, 2004. Appellant, represented by the Tracy appellees, filed a lawsuit against BMW in state district court to prove-up the settlement between BMW and appellant, as next friend of Gary Gunn, Sr.: Candace Gunn as Next Friend of Gary Don Gunn, Sr., an incapacitated adult v. BMW of North America, LLC (f/k/a BMW of North America, Inc.), Cause No. 04-10793-C, 68th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas. On December 12, 2004, the trial court conducted a prove-up hearing on the settlement in cause number 04-10793-C, and the trial court approved the settlement amount paid by BMW and the other settlement terms.
In 2005, appellant and Gary Gunn, Sr. were sued on a debt by Ann Glenn: Ann Glenn v. Gary Gunn and Candace Gunn, Cause No. 05-05804-J, 191st Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas. The Tracy appellees filed the answer of appellant and Gary Gunn, Sr. in that lawsuit. According to an affidavit of appellee Todd Tracy, during the pendency of cause number 05-05804-J, he learned appellant had retained counsel to file a legal malpractice lawsuit against him, thus creating a conflict of interest between the Tracy appellees and appellant. By letter dated July 31, 2006, the Tracy appellees wrote to appellant and Gary Gunn, Sr.:
The Tracy appellees filed a motion to withdraw as counsel of record for appellant and Gary Gunn, Sr., as defendants in cause number 05-05804-J, stating a "conflict prevents counsel from being able to zealously represent the Defendants." The trial court signed an order granting the withdrawal of the Tracy appellees as counsel on October 16, 2006. The record does not indicate appellant and Gary Gunn, Sr. retained new counsel to represent them in cause number 05-05804-J. They did not appear for trial on December 11, 2006, and a final judgment was signed awarding plaintiff Glenn $11,339.76, plus post-judgment interest and costs.
On April 6, 2007, appellant filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against the Tracy appellees: Candace Gunn, Individually and as Next Friend of Gary Gunn v. E. Todd Tracy, Individually, Tracy & Carboy, Attorneys at Law, Ed P. Cox, Individually, and E.P.C. Engineering Resources, Inc., Cause No. 07-03161-J, 191st Judicial District
Appellant alleged the Tracy and Fuqua appellees were negligent in their legal representation of appellant, breached their fiduciary duty to appellant, and committed fraud against appellant by making various representations and failing to disclose information. In addition to actual damages, appellant sought exemplary damages based on alleged fraudulent and malicious representations by appellees. During the pendency of the legal malpractice action, interlocutory summary judgments were granted by the trial court in favor of the Tracy appellees. With the exception of appellant's allegation the Tracy appellees concealed from appellant "the negligent acts complained of and the adverse impact of these negligent acts on the value of [appellant's] claims by settlement or verdict," the trial court granted the Tracy appellees' motion for traditional summary judgment on appellant's breach of fiduciary duty allegations as impermissibly fractured legal malpractice claims.
On September 14, 2010, the trial court signed an order granting the Tracy appellees' motion to exclude appellant's expert witnesses and motion for sanctions and ordered appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees dismissed with prejudice. On September 28, 2010, the trial court signed an order granting the Fuqua appellees' motion to exclude appellant's expert witnesses and motion for sanctions and ordered appellant take nothing by way of her claims against the Fuqua appellees.
The Tracy and Fuqua appellees filed "Catch-All No-Evidence Motions for Summary Judgment," moving for summary judgment to dispose of all of appellant's claims in the "unlikely" event any of appellant's claims survived the trial court's sanction orders or any of appellant's claims "are revived." On January 20, 2011, the trial court signed orders granting the Fuqua appellees' catch-all motion for summary judgment and severing appellant's claims against the Fuqua appellees into a separate cause of action (DC-11-00811-J). On January 28, 2011, the trial court signed a final judgment in favor of the Fuqua appellees. On January 25, 2011, the trial court severed appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees into a separate cause of action (DC-11-00974-J), and on February 16, 2011, the trial court signed a final judgment in favor of the Tracy appellees. On August 22, 2011, the trial court signed an order granting the Tracy appellees' catch-all no-evidence motion for summary judgment.
Appellant filed this appeal.
In her first issue, appellant asserts the trial court erred by granting a "death penalty discovery sanction against [appellant] for failure to produce expert reports pursuant to a routine scheduling order, and in likewise denying [appellant's] motion to reconsider."
We review a trial court's imposition of sanctions under rule of civil procedure 215 for an abuse of discretion. Am. Flood Research, Inc. v. Jones, 192 S.W.3d 581,
A discovery sanction must be just; a direct relationship must exist between the improper conduct and the sanction imposed, and the sanction "should be no more severe than necessary to satisfy its legitimate purposes. TransAmerican Natural Gas Corp. v. Powell, 811 S.W.2d 913, 917 (Tex.1991) (orig. proceeding). Discovery sanctions serve to secure compliance with the discovery rules, deter other litigants from violating the discovery rules, and punish those who violate the rules. 5 Star Diamond, LLC, 369 S.W.3d at 577; Tex. Integrated Conveyor Sys., Inc. v. Innovative Conveyor Concepts, Inc., 300 S.W.3d 348, 384 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2009, pet. denied) (op. on reh'g).
Rule 215.2 allows a trial court to sanction a party for failure to comply with a discovery order or request. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 215.2; Cire v. Cummings, 134 S.W.3d 835, 839 (Tex.2004). Among the sanctions available under rule 215.2 are orders "striking out pleadings or parts thereof," "dismissing with or without prejudice the actions or proceedings or any part thereof," and "rendering a judgment by default against the disobedient party." TEX.R. CIV. P. 215.2(b)(5). These sanctions, that adjudicate a claim and preclude presentation of the merits of the case, are often referred to as "death penalty" sanctions. See generally Cire, 134 S.W.3d at 840-41; see also TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 918 ("When a trial court strikes a party's pleadings and dismisses its action or renders a default judgment against it for abuse of the discovery process, the court adjudicates the party's claims without regard to their merits but based instead upon the parties' conduct of discovery."); Perez v. Murff, 972 S.W.2d 78, 81 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1998, pet. denied) (any sanctions which are "case determinative" constitute "death penalty" sanctions).
"Death penalty" sanctions are harsh and may be imposed as an initial sanction only in the most egregious and exceptional cases "when they are clearly justified and it is fully apparent that no lesser sanctions would promote compliance with the rules." GTE Commc'ns Sys. Corp. v. Tanner, 856 S.W.2d 725, 729 (Tex. 1993). Generally, courts must impose-not just consider-lesser sanctions before resorting to the "death penalty." See Cire, 134 S.W.3d at 842. When reviewing "death penalty" sanctions, we are required to review the trial court's actions in light of the standards set out in TransAmerican. Murff, 972 S.W.2d at 82.
Appellant filed the legal malpractice lawsuit, cause number 07-03161-J, in April 2007. In June 2007, the trial court signed a scheduling order. That scheduling order contained no deadline for parties' designations of expert witnesses or production of
On January 24, 2008, the trial court signed an agreed scheduling order (the second scheduling order). The second scheduling order provided that appellant "shall designate experts and must provide reports" by March 7, 2008, unless appellee Todd Tracy could not be deposed by March 1, 2008, in which case appellant could seek additional time from the trial court to designate experts and provide reports.
On March 31, 2008, appellant filed a motion to extend her deadline for designation of expert witnesses and production of expert reports. In her motion, appellant referenced the provision of the second scheduling order whereby she could seek additional time to designate expert witnesses and produce expert reports if Todd Tracy had not been deposed by March 1, 2008. However, Todd Tracy was deposed on February 23, 2008. In her motion, appellant sought at least an additional thirty days to designate expert witnesses "and provide reports," because transcripts of the depositions of Todd Tracy and Ed Cox had only recently been received and were necessary to enable appellant's expert "to prepare an adequate report."
The Tracy appellees filed their opposition to appellant's motion to extend the time to designate her expert witnesses and produce expert reports and a motion for sanctions. The Tracy appellees asserted appellant knowingly missed the trial court's deadline to designate her expert witnesses and produce expert reports, and rule of civil procedure 193.6(a) requires exclusion of the testimony of expert witnesses who are not timely identified. In their motion for sanctions, the Tracy appellees also requested under rule of civil procedure 215.2(b) a monetary sanction and an order prohibiting appellant from introducing expert testimony into evidence, awarding the Tracy appellees' reasonable expenses, and taxing costs against appellant.
Although there is no written order signed by the associate judge in the record, on April 18, 2008, the Tracy appellees filed an appeal to the trial court of the associate judge's April 15, 2008 oral pronouncement of a thirty day extension for appellant's expert witness designation. On April 18, 2008, appellant filed her response to the Tracy appellees' motion for partial summary judgment on her breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract claims and to the Tracy appellees' no-evidence motion for summary judgment. In that response, appellant moved the trial court to continue hearings on those motions for summary judgment until appellant's "expert has been designated and a written report filed with the court and opposing counsel."
At a May 9, 2008 hearing before the trial court, appellant's counsel stated he had a May 15, 2008 deadline to designate expert witnesses and produce expert reports, and the trial court stated it was not extending
On the May 15, 2008 deadline for appellant's expert witness designation, appellant filed her second motion for extension of time to designate expert witnesses. In that second motion for extension, appellant reiterated her attorney's representation at the May 9, 2008 hearing that he "had obtained the services of an expert witness and was scheduled to meet with the witness immediately following the hearing to finalize a written report." However, appellant's motion also informed the court that the expert subsequently had declined to serve as a witness. On June 2, 2008, the trial court signed an order memorializing the trial court's announcement at the May 9 hearing that appellant "shall produce and serve [her] expert designations and reports on or before May 15, 2008."
On July 28, 2008, the Tracy appellees filed their motion to designate the Fuqua appellees as responsible third parties. On September 26, 2008, appellant filed her third amended petition in which she joined the Fuqua appellees as named defendants.
On October 8, 2008, the trial court signed a number of orders in the legal malpractice lawsuit. The trial court signed an order denying the Tracy appellees' appeal of the associate judge's extension of appellant's deadline for designating expert witnesses and producing expert reports. The order memorialized that the existing scheduling order remained in place and required appellant to designate her experts and serve expert reports by May 15, 2008. The trial court signed an order on the Tracy appellees' motion to compel production of a document shredder and fax machine and motion for sanctions. The trial court's order required appellant to produce the document shredder and fax machine for inspection and testing, but did not grant the requested sanctions. The trial court signed an order on the Tracy appellees' "composite" motion to compel discovery responses and motion for sanctions, granting in part the motion to compel but taking no action on the request for sanctions. The trial court signed an order on the Tracy appellees' motion to compel production of telephone and dumpster records and motion for sanctions. The trial court found appellant had failed to comply with the trial court's March 7, 2008 order to produce telephone and dumpster records and ordered production of the telephone records. Because appellant's counsel advised he had mistakenly failed to produce records in his possession and that he would do so promptly, the trial court made no further rulings regarding production of the dumpster records. The trial court ordered appellant's counsel, Jeff Forrest Smith, sanctioned for violation of rule of civil procedure 215.2(b). Smith was ordered to pay $1000 into the registry of the trial court, representing the Tracy appellees' reasonable expense incurred in pursuing the motion, including their reasonable attorney's fees. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 215.2(b)(8).
On July 1, 2009, the trial court conducted a hearing on the Tracy appellees' motion to deem admissions and for sanctions. Although the trial court indicated some "obstructionist tendencies" were apparent in appellant's answers to the requests for admissions, the trial court did not believe the requested $10,000 sanction was justified. The trial court suggested that if the Tracy appellees submitted billing records in support of a monetary sanction, the trial court would review the billing records. The record does not contain an order granting a monetary sanction in response to this motion.
On July 26, 2010, the trial court conducted a scheduling conference and signed a scheduling order that specially set the legal malpractice lawsuit for trial on February 28, 2011 (the third scheduling order). That scheduling order, "submitted and agreed to" by appellant, provides that by August 2, 2010, appellant "shall designate experts and must provide reports."
On August 2, 2010, appellant served her second amended disclosure and identified four expert witnesses: appellant's attorney was designated to testify regarding attorney's fees; James M. McCormack was designated to testify regarding the legal standard of care; Wayne Hunkins was designated to testify regarding the legal standard of care and the proper prosecution of products liability litigation; and Viola Lopez, an expert previously designated by a defendant in the underlying motorcycle accident litigation, was designated to testify regarding Gary Gunn, Sr.'s long-term care. Appellant provided a curriculum vitae only for Mr. McCormack and produced no written expert reports. Appellant's expert designations in her amended disclosure contain the following representations:
On August 12, 2010, the Tracy appellees filed a motion to exclude appellant's witnesses under rule of civil procedure 193.6 and for sanctions under rules 215.2(b) and 215.3 for appellant's failure to comply with the trial court's third scheduling order and for abusing the discovery process. The Tracy appellees set out the chronology of appellant's failures to properly designate expert witnesses and produce expert reports in compliance with the trial court's orders, noting appellant had missed three court-ordered deadlines to designate experts and produce expert reports. The Tracy appellees asserted appellant's failure to comply with the trial court's scheduling order is sanctionable conduct under rule 215. The Tracy appellees further asserted appellant's failure to properly designate witnesses is also governed under rule 193.6, and appellant cannot satisfy one of the narrow exceptions to the rule excluding evidence for failure to timely designate or supplement discovery. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 193.6(a).
On August 19, 2010, the Fuqua appellees filed their motion to exclude appellant's witnesses and for sanctions under rules 215.2(b) and 215.3 and joinder in the Tracy appellees' August 12, 2010 motion. In their motion, the Fuqua appellees pointed out that appellant obtained new counsel in the summer of 2008. To accommodate appellant's new counsel, the trial setting was continued, which necessitated continuance of scheduling order deadlines. A scheduling conference was not held until June 15, 2010, almost two years after appellant's new attorney appeared in the case. The Fuqua appellees argued that despite the trial court's numerous orders concerning production of expert reports, and extensions of time for compliance, no expert report had been produced, and that failure constituted sufficient grounds to justify a presumption that appellant's claims lacked merit.
Appellant filed a response to the Tracy and Fuqua appellees' motions to exclude appellant's witnesses and for sanctions.
On September 14, 2010, the trial court signed an order on the Tracy appellees' motion to exclude appellant's witnesses and motion for sanctions under rules 215.2(b) and 215.3. The trial court granted the motion to exclude appellant's expert witnesses because appellant failed to comply with the court's third scheduling order regarding designation of expert witnesses and production of expert reports, granted the motion for sanctions, and ordered appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees dismissed with prejudice. In its order, the trial court made the following findings in support of sanctions under rules 215.2(b)(5) and 215.3:
On September 28, 2010, the trial court signed an order granting the Fuqua appellees' motion to exclude appellant's witnesses and motion for sanctions under rule 215.2(b) and 215.3. The trial court found appellant had been obligated to designate expert witnesses and provide expert reports since as early as March 7, 2008, and, at appellant's request, the trial court had extended her deadline at least twice, with the most recent deadline being August 2, 2010. The trial court pointed out the multiple deadlines for designating expert witnesses and providing expert reports appellant failed to meet, that even as of the September 3, 2010 hearing on the Fuqua appellees' motion, appellant had not provided expert reports, and appellant "provided no evidence of good cause for failing to provide expert reports." The trial court concluded exclusion of the experts' testimony was the proper remedy and a lesser sanction would not serve the purposes of the discovery rules. Because the trial court concluded expert testimony was required for appellant to prevail on her claims against the Fuqua appellees, the trial court ordered appellant take nothing by way of her claims against the Fuqua appellees.
On December 12, 2010, appellant filed her motion to set aside the "death penalty" sanctions and exclusion of expert testimony. In her motion, appellant argued the trial court entered what amounted to a "death penalty" sanction by foreclosing appellant's ability to introduce evidence of attorney malpractice. Appellant argued the trial court had not previously threatened a sanction or levied a lesser sanction relating to a failure to designate expert witnesses and produce expert reports, nor was there a finding that the trial court considered lesser sanctions or that appellant's conduct justified the presumption that the lawsuit lacked merit. Appellant further argued that although the trial court had previously sanctioned appellant's counsel for discovery abuse, that sanction did not relate to appellant's designation of expert witnesses or production of expert reports. At the December 2010 hearing of appellant's motion to set aside the sanctions, appellant's counsel argued that he interpreted the expert report production language in the third scheduling order to refer only to reports existing as of the production deadline.
In response to appellant's motion to set aside the sanction excluding appellant's experts, the Fuqua appellees asserted appellant did not misunderstand the trial court's orders requiring that expert witnesses be designated and expert reports be produced, pointing to appellant's statement in her March 31, 2009 motion to extend her
Appellant timely identified her expert witnesses in accordance with the terms of the third scheduling order. What the trial court concluded appellant failed to do was provide information concerning the experts' opinions, including production of their expert reports. We must determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in excluding the experts and dismissing with prejudice appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees and ordering appellant take nothing on her claims against the Fuqua appellees as discretionary sanctions under rules 215.2(b) and 215.3. The crux of the issue turns on whether there is a direct relationship between the improper conduct and the sanctions imposed and whether "death penalty" sanctions imposed by the trial court were excessive. See TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 917.
We must first determine whether there was a direct relationship between appellant's offensive conduct in failing to fully comply with the trial court's third scheduling order and the sanctions imposed by the trial court. See Cire, 134 S.W.3d at 839. For "death penalty" sanctions to be just, the trial court "must determine that `a party's hindrance of the discovery process justifies a presumption that its claims or defenses lack merit.'" GTE Comm'ns Sys. Corp., 856 S.W.2d at 730 (quoting TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 918); see also Cire, 134 S.W.3d at 841 (discovery sanctions can be used to adjudicate the merits of party's clams only when party's hindrance of discovery process justifies a presumption that its claims lack merit); 5 Star Diamond, LLC, 369 S.W.3d at 578.
In determining whether a party's hindrance of the discovery process justifies a presumption that her claims lack merit, we consider whether the failure to comply with discovery requirements is the fault of appellant, her counsel, or both. A just sanction should be "visited upon the offender." TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 917. As the supreme court stated:
TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 917. See also Tex. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Narvaez, 312 S.W.3d 94, 99-100 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2010, pet. denied) (trial court must attempt to determine whether offensive conduct is attributable to counsel only, to the party only, or to both); Thompson v. Woodruff, 232 S.W.3d 316, 322 (Tex.App.-Beaumont
There is no indication in the record of this case that appellant had any knowledge of, or role in, the failure of her counsel to timely provide a complete designation of expert witnesses and produce expert reports. The trial court made no finding that appellant was personally responsible for the failure of her counsel to fully comply with discovery rules and the scheduling orders in this case. Accordingly, we cannot conclude on this record that appellant's failure to fully comply with the third scheduling order justifies the presumption that her claims lack merit. We conclude there exists on this record no direct relationship between appellant's conduct and the extreme sanctions imposed by the trial court.
However, even assuming there was a direct relationship between appellant's conduct and the sanctions of striking appellant's expert witnesses and dismissing with prejudice appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees and ordering appellant take nothing by way of her claims against the Fuqua appellees, we conclude the "death penalty" sanctions imposed in this case were excessive. See Alexander v. Turtur & Assocs., Inc., 146 S.W.3d 113, 119-20 (Tex.2004) (when causation is beyond jury's common understanding, expert testimony is necessary in legal malpractice claim); Revco, D.S., Inc. v. Cooper, 873 S.W.2d 391, 396 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1994, orig. proceeding) (exclusion of experts in medical malpractice case requiring expert testimony has a "death penalty" effect); Murff, 972 S.W.2d at 82 (exclusion of witnesses precluded appellants from presenting their case properly characterized as "death penalty" sanction).
Sanctions which terminate or inhibit the presentation of the merits of a party's claim "must be reserved for circumstances in which a party has so abused the rules of procedure, despite imposition of lesser sanctions, that the party's position can be presumed to lack merit and it would be unjust to permit the party to present the substance of that position before the court." Braden v. Downey, 811 S.W.2d 922, 929 (Tex. 1991) (orig. proceeding) (citing TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 913). "A sanction imposed for discovery abuse should be no more severe than necessary to satisfy its legitimate purposes." TransAmerican, 811 S.W.2d at 917. It, therefore, follows "that courts must consider the availability of less stringent sanctions and whether such lesser sanctions would fully promote compliance." Id. "A sanction is excessive if lesser sanctions would have served the purposes of compliance, deterrence, and punishment." 5 Star Diamond, 369 S.W.3d at 579. "[I]n all but the most egregious and exceptional circumstances, the trial court must test
While the trial court's September 28, 2010 order granting the Fuqua appellees' motion for sanctions indicates a lesser sanction would not serve the purposes of the discovery rules, there is no finding in the trial court's September 14, 2010 or September 28, 2010 orders granting sanctions under rule 215 indicating the trial court considered any less stringent sanction. Further, there are no orders in the record that impose lesser sanctions for appellant's failure to provide a complete designation of expert witnesses or produce expert reports pursuant to the trial court's third scheduling order or any prior scheduling order. "Death penalty" sanctions are appropriate as an initial sanction only in the egregious and exceptional case when they are "clearly justified and it is fully apparent that no lesser sanctions would promote compliance with the rules." GTE Commc'ns Sys. Corp., 856 S.W.2d at 729. We conclude this is not such a case. Accordingly, it was necessary for the trial court to actually impose, not simply consider, lesser sanctions before resorting to "death penalty" sanctions. See Cire, 134 S.W.3d at 842. This the trial court did not do.
Clearly, the record contains evidence of dilatoriness on the part of appellant's counsel in failing to designate expert witnesses and produce expert reports in compliance with prior scheduling orders and in failing to fully comply with requirements of the third scheduling order relating to designation of expert witnesses and production of expert reports, and we do not disagree with the trial court's determination the conduct was sanctionable. However, while we do not condone the conduct in this case constituting discovery abuse, we conclude the sanctions the trial court imposed were excessive and fail under TransAmerican. Given the facts in our record, we do not conclude that the conduct of appellant's counsel "exhibited such flagrant bad faith or callous disregard for the responsibilities imposed on him by the trial court that such severe sanctions were justified." See Murff, 972 S.W.2d at 83.
Thus, we must conclude the trial court abused its discretion in entering "death penalty" sanctions against appellant. We resolve appellant's first issue in her favor.
In her second issue, appellant contends the trial court erred by granting appellees' "catch-all" motions for summary judgment. After the trial court's September 14, 2010 and September 28, 2010 sanctions orders excluding the experts and dismissing with prejudice appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees and ordering appellant take nothing on her claims against the Fuqua appellees, respectively, the Tracy and Fuqua appellees filed "catch-all" no-evidence motions for summary judgment. In their "catch-all" motions for summary judgment, appellees asserted that, in the unlikely event any of appellant's claims survived the trial court's sanction orders or any of appellant's claims "are revived," they were entitled to summary judgment because the appellant had no expert witness to testify regarding the causation component of appellant's causes of action.
On January 20, 2011, the trial court signed orders granting the Fuqua appellees' catch-all no-evidence motion for summary judgment and severing appellant's claims against the Fuqua appellees into a separate cause of action. The summary judgment order on the Fuqua appellees'
Therefore, we consider whether the trial court erred in granting the Fuqua appellees' "catch-all" no-evidence motion for summary judgment. Appellant asserted claims of legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud against the Fuqua appellees. The Fuqua appellees argued that, because each of appellant's causes of action against them contain the element of causation
We have concluded that the trial court erred in imposing the "death penalty" sanction of striking appellant's experts and ordering appellant take nothing by way of her claims against the Fuqua appellees. Consequently, we conclude the trial court erred in granting the Fuqua appellees' "catch-all" no-evidence summary judgment based upon appellant's lack of expert testimony resulting from that sanction.
On January 25, 2011, the trial court severed appellant's claims against the Tracy appellees into a separate cause of action, and on February 16, 2011, the trial court signed the final judgment in favor of the Tracy appellees. On August 22, 2011, the trial court signed an order granting the Tracy appellees' catch-all no-evidence motion for summary judgment. The rules of civil procedure limit a trial court's jurisdiction after it has entered a final judgment. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 329b; see also Florance v. State, 352 S.W.3d 867, 874 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2011, no pet.); Alpert v. Crain, Caton & James, P.C., 178 S.W.3d 398, 409 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2005, pet. denied) (trial court has plenary power to grant a new trial or to vacate, modify, correct, or reform the judgment within thirty days after the judgment is signed; the filing of a motion for new trial under rule 329b(e) or a motion to modify, correct, or reform the judgment under rule 329b(g), within the initial thirty-day period,
Having concluded that the trial court erred in granting the Fuqua appellees' "catch-all" no-evidence motion for summary judgment, and that the trial court's order granting the Tracy appellees' "catch-all" motion for summary judgment is void, we resolve appellant's second issue in her favor.
Appellant asserts in her third issue that the trial court erred by denying her motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition. Appellant also argues the trial court erred by subsequently striking that amended petition.
Generally, a party may amend its pleadings at any time prior to seven days before trial unless the amended pleadings operate as a surprise to the opposing party. Tex.R. Civ. P. 63. A trial court has no discretion to refuse the amendment unless (1) the opposing party presents evidence of surprise or prejudice; or (2) the amendment asserts a new cause of action or defense, and thus is prejudicial on its face, and the opposing party objects to the amendment. State Bar v. Kilpatrick, 874 S.W.2d 656, 658 (Tex.1994); Hakemy Bros., Ltd. v. State Bank & Trust Co., Dallas, 189 S.W.3d 920, 924 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, pet. denied).
The deadline for filing an amended petition imposed by rule 63 may be altered by the trial court in a scheduling order issued pursuant to rule 166. Tex.R. Civ. P. 63. A party may seek leave of court to amend its pleadings after the deadline imposed by a scheduling order entered pursuant to rule 166. Id.
When amendments which introduce new substantive matter have been refused by the trial court under rule 63, the burden of showing an abuse of discretion is on the complaining party, rather than on the opposite party to show surprise. Hardin, 597 S.W.2d at 349. On appeal, the trial court's ruling will not be disturbed unless the complaining party clearly shows an abuse of discretion. Id.
On January 15, 2008, appellant and the Tracy appellees filed an agreed motion for continuance of the April 7, 2008 trial setting and for an October 14, 2008 special trial setting. The trial court's second scheduling order provided that amended pleadings adding a new claim were to be "complete" by April 1, 2008, and amended pleadings not adding a new claim were to be "complete" by August 1, 2008. On September 26, 2008, appellant filed her third amended petition adding the Fuqua appellees as defendants in the lawsuit. Appellant re-filed her third amended petition on August 19, 2009.
The trial court's July 26, 2010 third scheduling order specially set the lawsuit for trial on February 28, 2011. That scheduling order, reflecting that it was "submitted and agreed to" by appellant, includes the deadlines of August 14, 2010 for filing a motion to amend pleadings adding a new claim, and December 15, 2010 to amend pleadings that do not add new claims.
After the deadline for filing an amended pleading adding a new claim, on August 16, 2010, appellant filed a motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition against the Tracy and Fuqua appellees. In her motion, appellant stated that all facts pleaded in her fourth amended petition are contained in depositions and documents produced by defendants, and, therefore, no prejudice or surprise could be alleged in good faith by the appellees. Appellant's fourth amended petition was filed contemporaneously with her motion.
In the Fuqua appellees' August 27, 2010 response in opposition to appellant's motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition, they argued the lawsuit had been on file for over three years, and appellant's proposed fourth amended petition asserted new claims of alleged violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), see TEX. BUS. & COM.CODE ANN. § 17.50(a)(1)(A) (West 2011), of negligence, negligence per se, and gross negligence for their alleged violation of a rule of professional conduct, see TEX. DISCIPLINARY RULES PROF'L CONDUCT R. 1.01(a), reprinted in TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. tit. 2, subtit. G, app. A (West 2005), and for a declaratory judgment. The Fuqua appellees objected to appellant's fourth amended petition based on surprise and prejudice.
On September 3, 2010, the Tracy appellees also filed objections to appellant's proposed fourth amended petition. The Tracy appellees argued the proposed pleading attempted to overrule the trial court's prior orders granting various summary judgments by reviving the dismissed claims, incorporated new factual allegations that contradict Candace Gunn's prior deposition testimony in the legal malpractice action and in her prior sworn testimony at the prove-up hearing of the settlement of Gary Gunn, Sr.'s claims against BMW. The Tracy
On October 26, 2010, the trial court conducted a hearing on appellant's motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition. Appellant relied on documents produced in discovery by the parties to rebut appellees' prejudice and surprise objections to the newly-asserted causes of action in appellant's proposed fourth amended petition. Appellant argued the newly-asserted causes of action were based on existing facts.
In January 2011, the trial court signed orders denying appellant's motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition and striking appellant's fourth amended petition that had been filed contemporaneously with her motion. The trial court's order striking appellant's fourth amended petition contains the trial court's specific findings that appellant's fourth amended petition added new claims and causes of action, was filed after the deadline in the trial court's third scheduling order for filing new claims, and was prejudicial to the fair trial of the lawsuit.
Here, appellant moved to file her fourth amended petition after the deadline imposed by the trial court's third scheduling order, and the proposed fourth amended petition asserted new claims of alleged DTPA violations, of negligence, negligence per se, and gross negligence for alleged violation of a rule of professional responsibility, a claim for declaratory judgment, allegations relating to disgorgement of attorney's fees, and a fraud allegation to a previously-pleaded misrepresentation claim. The amended pleading was prejudicial where appellant attempted to assert new causes of action, and appellees timely objected to the amended pleading. See Kilpatrick, 874 S.W.2d at 658 (Tex.1994). On this record, appellant has failed to establish the trial court abused its discretion in denying appellant's motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition or for striking appellant's fourth amended petition. We resolve appellant's third issue against her.
We conclude the trial court did not err in denying appellant's motion for leave to file her fourth amended petition. We conclude the trial court erred in striking appellant's expert Fuqua appellees' and the Tracy appellees' "catch-all" no-evidence motions for summary judgment. We reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand these causes to the trial court for further proceedings.
TEX. R. CIV. P. 193.6(a).
TEX.R. CIV. P. 194.2(f).
Tex.R. Civ. P. 63.
