Camacho v. Samaniego
| Decision Date | 21 August 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-95-00329-CV,08-95-00329-CV |
| Parties | Mary CAMACHO, et al., and Frederick S. Timmons, et al., Appellants, v. Leo SAMANIEGO, et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Joseph (Sib) Abraham, Jr., James O. Darnell, Grambling, Darnell, L.L.P., Scott Segall, Martin & Segall, C.R. Kit Bramblett, Bramblett & Bramblett, El Paso, Max Christenson, Odessa, Doris Dipes, Stewart W. Forbes, Woodrow W. Bean, II, El Paso, for appellants.
Edward M. Sosa, Assistant County Attorney, El Paso, Kathleen M. McCulloch, Shafer, Davis, McCollum, Ashley, O'Leary & Stoker, Odessa, for appellees.
Before BARAJAS, C.J., and McCLURE and CHEW, JJ.
This is the second appeal from a summary judgment in this cause. All parties below moved for summary judgment, and the trial court granted the motion filed by the El Paso County Sheriff, Leo Samaniego (the "Sheriff"), and El Paso County (the "County").
The first summary judgment was also granted in favor of the Sheriff and the County. On appeal, this Court dismissed the case based on the trial court's lack of jurisdiction. Camacho v. Samaniego, 825 S.W.2d 467 (Tex.App.--El Paso 1991), rev'd, 831 S.W.2d 804 (Tex.1992). The Texas Supreme Court reversed that ruling and then addressed the statutory authority of the County under TEX.LOC.GOV'T CODE ANN. § 118.131 (Vernon 1988 & Supp.1997), formerly TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 3926a, to assess the disputed fees on surety bonds. The Court held that surety bond approval fees imposed on the bonding companies were unauthorized by any Texas statute, and remanded for further proceedings in the trial court on the issue of whether the companies were entitled to refunds for past surety bond fees paid. Camacho, 831 S.W.2d at 815.
On remand with respect to the refund issue, the Sheriff and El Paso County (together "Appellees") moved for summary judgment based on sovereign immunity, legislative immunity, official immunity, mistake of law, inapplicability of the statute to the facts, the nonretroactivity of Camacho, the statute of limitations, and laches. Appellees also asserted that the Appellants were not entitled to prejudgment interest or to attorneys' fees. Appellants moved for summary judgment on converse grounds, alleging that the Supreme Court had resolved both the issue of statutory authority and the entitlement of the bonding companies to a refund, and had remanded solely on issue of the amount of damages to be refunded. Because Appellants believed these damages were liquidated, they asserted that no material fact issue existed and that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The trial court entered a final take-nothing judgment in favor of the Appellees. We affirm in part, and reverse and remand in part.
This suit involves claims brought by various bail bond companies against the Sheriff and the County. The facts are largely beyond dispute. Initially, some of the companies entered into an agreed statement of facts with the Appellees. Though not all the Appellants were parties to this agreement, it is representative of the factual situation applicable to all parties in this case. Relevant portions of this agreement are as follows:
Effective June 1, 1983, the Sheriff of El Paso County, Texas, as approved by the El Paso County Bail Bond Board on April 27, 1983, commenced requiring bailbondsmen to pay a $2.00 bail bond filing fee on bail bonds filed for release of persons from the El Paso County Jail. The fee is required from bailbondsmen on each and every surety bail bond, both felony and misdemeanor. The fee is not required for cash bonds or personal bonds. Initially, the fee was to be paid at the time of the posting of bail, but was billed instead on a monthly basis. As of January 28, 1987, the bail bond filing fee is payable at the time the bail bond is presented to the El Paso County Sheriff. The El Paso County Sheriff requires that the fee be paid by any bailbondsman presenting a bail bond to the El Paso County Sheriff as a pre-requisite to acceptance of the bail bond by the El Paso County Sheriff, and the release of the principal.
On September 30, 1985, the Commissioner's Court of El Paso County, Texas, raised the bail bond fee from $2.00 to $5.00, effective October 1, 1985.... On January 5, 1987, the Commissioner's Court of El Paso County Texas, raised the fee from $5.00 to $10.00, effective February 1, 1987.... On September 21, 1987, the Commissioner's Court of El Paso County, Texas, raised the fee from $10.00 to $18.00, effective January 1, 1988....
Unless [the Appellant bailbondsmen] pay to the Sheriff of El Paso County, Texas, the Sheriff will not accept [their] criminal bail bonds.
...
All of the [Appellant bond companies] pay the fee as an integral part of their doing business as bondsmen in El Paso County, Texas.
On January 25, 1988, the first suit was brought in County Court at Law No. Two by Mary Camacho, individually and doing business as Afuera Out Bail Bonds ("Camacho"), and Nancy Merrill, doing business as Merrill Bail Bonds ("Merrill"). These plaintiffs claimed that the preconviction bail bond fee charged by the County and collected by the Sheriff was unconstitutional and illegal. They requested a declaratory judgment to that effect, a permanent injunction prohibiting the continued collection of the fees, and damages in the form of a refund of fees already collected. On April 3, 1989, Frederick Timmons, individually and doing business as Get Free Bail Bonds ("Timmons"), and Alberto De Lachica, individually and doing business as Lachica Bail Bonds ("De Lachica"), filed a similar suit against the Appellees in the 210th Judicial District Court of El Paso County. On April 27, 1989, Timmons' and De Lachica's case was transferred to County Court at Law No. Two and ultimately consolidated with Camacho's and Merrill's suit. These four parties are the original plaintiffs. They filed two motions for class certification, attempting to represent other bonding companies similarly situated, which the trial court denied. On August 1, 1989, Alberto De Lachica amended his petition to add Metro Bail Bonds as another "dba."
Six other bond companies intervened in the consolidated action at various times over the next several months. On August 1, 1989, Alberto Lopez Jr., doing business as Compa Bail Bonds and A-1 Bail Bonds, Fernando Lara Basoco, doing business as El Paso Bail Bonds, and Dolores Solis, doing business as A.D. Solis Bail Bonds, intervened and adopted the Plaintiffs' First Amended Petition filed that same day by Timmons and De Lachica. On August 30, 1989, Odia Harvey, doing business as Amigo Bail Bonds, also intervened and adopted Timmons' and De Lachica's pleadings. On September 14, 1989, Camacho and Merrill filed an amended petition. They were joined in intervention by Armando Camacho, individually and doing business as Camacho Bail Bonds. 1 On September 28, 1989, Kirsten Apodaca, doing business as Apodaca Bail Bonds, intervened and adopted Timmons' and De Lachica's pleadings. 2 These plaintiffs comprise the original intervenors in this case.
After motions for summary judgment were filed on both sides, the trial court, then CountyCourt at Law No. Two, entered a take-nothing judgment in favor of the County and the Sheriff, both individually and in his official capacity. On appeal, this Court dismissed the case, holding unconstitutional the statute 3 purporting to grant the county court at law subject matter jurisdiction to hear a case that challenged actions of the County Commissioners' Court. The Texas Supreme Court then reversed with respect to the constitutionality of TEX.GOV'T CODE ANN. § 25.0732 (Vernon 1988), and held that TEX.LOC.GOV'T CODE ANN. § 118.131 did not authorize the preconviction bail bond fee as the County and the Sheriff contended. Accordingly, the surety fee was illegal pursuant to the prohibition found in TEX.CODE CRIM.PROC.ANN. art. 103.002 (Vernon Supp.1997) against imposing a cost for a service on a criminal defendant that is not explicitly authorized by law. See Camacho, 831 S.W.2d at 812-15. The Court remanded on all issues relating to the remedies available to the bonding companies.
On remand, both the Camacho and the Timmons groups, the County, and the Sheriff proceeded to trial on the issue of damages 4 before the same trial judge. However, the case was now heard in the 205th Judicial District Court. On June 30, 1992, Justice Bail Bonds ("Justice") filed suit against the County and the Sheriff in the 34th Judicial District Court. On August 17, 1992, Raymond Telles ("Telles"), individually and doing business as Raymond Telles Bail Bonds, filed a similar suit in the same court. Upon Justice's motion to consolidate and over the objections of the original plaintiffs and intervenors, Justice's and Telles' causes of action were transferred to the 205th and consolidated with the suits by the four original plaintiffs.
On August 8, 1992, Michael York, Jaime Alvarado, Saul Mota, and Greg Swan filed a plea in intervention. 5 These intervenors asserted that they were criminal defendants released from the El Paso County Detention Center pursuant to bail bonds filed by the plaintiff bonding companies. They alleged that they, and not the bail bond companies, had paid the illegal bail bond fees and that they were entitled to a return of the fees paid. They argued that the illegal fee was an integral part of the price they paid the bond companies to secure their release from jail. In addition, they requested that a class of other criminal defendants similarly situated be certified. The Camacho group, the Timmons group, Justice, and Telles each filed motions to strike the intervention, 6 arguing that the Supreme Court had previously determined in Camacho that the bond companies were the owners of the illegal fees paid. These plaintiffs...
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