August 2008 Decisions from the 14th Court of Appeals

Opinions in Civil Appeals released by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in August 2008 (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 2008)

Buggelli v. Feltis (Tex.App. - Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman)(DTPA, challenge to judgment on settlement agreement, waiver of error)Barajas v. Harvest Credit Management VI-B, LLC (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman)(credit card debt suit, summary judgment for debt collector reversed, contract terms not proven)Ardoin v. Anheuser-Busch (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman)(workplace accident death, no gross negligence found)Heckel v. Allen Samuels Chevrolet and GE (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman)(product liability claim time-barred, warranty claim remanded)Grace Memorial Baptist Church v. Harris County (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman) (property tax exemption claim not viable in tax suit, tax protest statute exclusive remedy)In Interest of CMC, CEC, GLC (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Brown) (termination of parental rights of alleged father reversed)In re Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Hedges)(discovery mandamus denied, motion to compel)Whitmire v. Lilly (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Boyce)(nunc pro tunc, NPT, void order vacated, plenary jurisdiction)Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. v. United States Fire Ins. Co. (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Hedges) (sealing order)Lomax v. Thomas (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug 28, 2008)(per curiam)DISMISSED: Per Curiam (DWOJ, interlocutory appeal not authorized)In re H & R Block Financial Advisors, Inc. (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(Guzman) (arbitration mandamus, waiver argument)In Interest of RS (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 28, 2008)(per curiam)(interlocutory appeal of temporary order in SAPCR termination suit not authorized, DWOJ)In re Sedeno-Suarez (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug.. 28, 2008)(per curiam) (parallel civil and criminal proceedings, discovery limitations, order of protection, invocation of fifth amendment privilege)Sonic Systems Int., Inc. v. Croix (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 27, 2008)(Seymore)(insurance law, workers comp claim denial)Metro v. Harris County (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Fowler)(workers comp subrogation)Texas Mutual Ins. Co. v. Morris (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Fowler)(insurance code violation damages affirmed, loss of credit reputation damages deleted)Transcontinental Ins. Co. v. Crump (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Anderson)(worker's compensation death benefits judicial review proceeding, attorneys fees)In the Interest of D.A.P. (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Seymore)(child support, OAG suit UCCJEA, modification, order on SAPCR counterclaim reversed,no jurisdiction over out-of-state parent due to failure to serve with citation UCCJEA)Salymeh v. Plaza Centro, LLC (Tex. App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Seymore)(lease law, landlord-tenant, forcible detainer, right of possession, lost rents not proven)West v. Triple B Services, LLP (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Fowler)(construction law, BoC, surety liability limited to face amount of bond)GP II Energy, Inc. v. Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, WIlliams & Martin (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Frost)(fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, escrow agent, non-disclosure)Thompson v. Peak (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Fowler)Dissenting Opinion by Justice Frost Anglo-Dutch Petroleum International, Inc. v. Greenberg Peden, PC (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug 26, 2008)(Boyce) (attorney-client fee dispute, contingency fee agreement)Salaymeh v. Plaza Centro, LLC (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Seymore)(lease law, damages for unpaid rent reversed for lack of sufficient proof, consolidated appeals in two forcible detainer suits)SWBT v. Harris County (Tex.App. - Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Yates)(inverse condemnation claim, utility easement, compensable taking, jurisdiction of Harris County county courts, plea to the jurisdiction reversed)Mayo v. Suemaur Exploration & Production LLC (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug 26, 2008)(Anderson)(auto collision with cattle, summary judgment affirmed, evidence not authenticated, pro se litigants)Concurring Opinion by Justice Brown McElroy v. Unifund CCR Partners (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(Boyce)(judgment in credit card debt suit affirmed, contract, quantum meruit, attorney's fees, business records affidavit)In re Anthony Santos (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 26, 2008)(per curiam)(signing of final order moots mandamus pertaining to temporary SAPCR orders)In re Banargent (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug 26, 2008)(per curiam)(inadequate record)CA Partners v. Marshall Spears (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 21, 2008)(Fowler)(debt collection, deed of trust, DTPA, DJA, attorneys fees reversed and remanded) CHCA Mainland, LP v. Dickie (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 21, 2008)(Fowler) (HCLC, expert not qualified; case remanded for possible grant of extension to file proper report)In Re Seizure of Gambling Proceeds (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 19, 2008)(Fowler) (search warrant not required for the State to initiate a forfeiture proceeding under Article 18.18(b) when officers enter a gaming establishment with the owner's consent and there is probable cause for seizure of the property)The Appraisal Review Board of HCAD v. O'Connor & Associates (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 19, 2008)(Yates) (property tax appeal, failure to exhaust their administrative remedies before filing suit requires jurisdictional dismissal)In Re Kenefick (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 19, 2008)(Seymore)(mandamus in family court case, clarification order declared void, motion to compel)Concurring Opinion by Justice Frost in In Re Kenefick (re: clarification order)In Re OAG of Texas (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 19, 2008)(Brown)(bill of review, child support)(petition for mandamus challenging order lifting child support judgment and lien denied)Pirate's Lake Ltd. v. Vestin Realty Mortgage I, Inc., No. 14-08-00085-CV (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 12, 2008)(appointment of receiver challenged, but foreclosure of property at issue moots case)(foreclosure case law, mootness doctrine)Clear Lake City Water Authority v. Kirby Lake Development (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 7, 2008) (Hedges) (local governmental entity, no breach of contract in connection with voter rejection in bond election, governmental immunity claim rejected, statutory waiver applies)In re Sterling Chemicals, Inc. (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 7, 2008)(Hedges)(forum selection clauses ambiguous due to inconsistency in documents, not enforced by trial court, appeals court denies mandamus)