Broadwater v. Courtney
| Citation | 809 P.2d 1310,1991 OK 39 |
| Decision Date | 23 April 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 70152,70152 |
| Parties | Laura BROADWATER, Appellee, v. Sheryl COURTNEY, Appellant. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Oklahoma |
Certiorari to the Court of Appeals, Division IV, appeal from the District Court of Tulsa County; Allen Klein, Judge.
Certiorari to review the opinion of the Court of Appeals reversing trial court's order denying application for attorney's fees holding that the record did not demonstrate that plaintiff brought a lawsuit which was not well grounded in fact or frivolous.
CERTIORARI PREVIOUSLY GRANTED; COURT OF APPEALS OPINION VACATED; ORDER OF THE DISTRICT COURT AFFIRMED.
Jim D. Shofner, Tulsa, for appellant.
Brewster Shallcross and Risley, Richard A. Shallcross, Tulsa, for appellee.
Plaintiff/appellant, a Tulsa realtor, showed a house to a prospective buyer and his son. The house was to be purchased through HUD and the realtor commission paid by HUD. Upon representations of the buyer's son, plaintiff made preparations on behalf of the buyer to make an offer to HUD for the house.
Thereafter the buyer's son phoned the defendant/appellee, also a Tulsa realtor, informed her that plaintiff had shown the buyer and him the house, that plaintiff was in preparation to make an offer, and asked what kind of deal defendant could make. Defendant assured the son that she could do a better job than plaintiff, that plaintiff was not as experienced as she was, and she could make the offer at a better price.
Subsequently, defendant prepared the offer, which buyer approved, and completed the purchase on behalf of the buyer through that offer to HUD. Defendant received the commission on the sale from HUD in the amount of $1400. After learning of the completed transaction from the son, plaintiff filed this suit claiming interference with contractual relations for the $1400 commission and $5000 in punitive damages.
After amending the claim at pre-trial hearing to state the cause of action as interference with contract negotiations, the case went to trial where plaintiff and her witnesses testified to the above stated facts. At the close of plaintiffs evidence, the trial judge sustained defendant's demurrer and entered judgment for defendant. Defendant filed an application for attorney fees pursuant to 23 O.S.Supp. 1986, § 103, 1 and 12 O.S.Supp.1986, § 2011. 2
The trial judge denied the application at hearing, stating specifically that He further stated, "I don't believe that [sustaining] of a demurrer is automatically a finding that the [plaintiff's] case was totally without foundation, not well grounded in fact, or was unwarranted by law, or was in bad faith."
Based upon its review of the record, the Court of Appeals held that denial of attorney fees to defendant was an abuse of the trial court's discretion. The appeals court concluded that certain facts could have been discovered with due diligence by plaintiff and further that the cause of action was frivolous, not recognized in case law, and lacking factual foundation that might allow extension or modification of existing law. Additionally, the Court of Appeals imposed costs and attorney fees against plaintiff's attorney finding that his conduct in this litigation fell within the scope of sanctions set forth in 23 O.S.Supp.1986, § 103, and 12 O.S.Supp.1986, § 2011. Using the abuse of discretion standard of review, we find no error in the trial court's judgment denying defendant's application for attorney fees. We vacate the Court of Appeals opinion and affirm the order of the trial court.
Sustaining a demurrer to the evidence does not mean that the trial court found the lawsuit not well grounded in fact; only that the evidence presented does not create a prima facie case of the theory of law upon which the claim is based. Ionic Petroleum Ltd. v. Third Finance Corp., 411 P.2d 492 (Okla.1966). In cases where abuse of discretion is raised, the discretionary act will be reviewed and if abuse is involved, the abuse will be corrected. Puckett v. Cook, 586 P.2d 721 (Okla.1978). To reverse a trial court...
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