Hawkins v. Ehler

• Decision Date: 20 February 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2-01-293-CV.,2-01-293-CV.
• Citation: 100 S.W.3d 534
• Parties: Robert Lee HAWKINS, Appellant, v. Terry Lynn EHLER, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

100 S.W.3d 534

Robert Lee HAWKINS, Appellant, v. Terry Lynn EHLER, Appellee.

No. 2-01-293-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth.

February 20, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James F. Tyson, Houston, for Appellant.

Robertson & Railsback, Thomas C. Railsback, Dallas, for Appellee.

PANEL B: DAY, DAUPHINOT, and HOLMAN, JJ.

OPINION

SAM J. DAY, Justice.

The parties in this marital property case entered into a mediated settlement agreement (the agreement) that purported to settle all disputes between Terry Lynn Ehler, Appellee, and Robert Lee Hawkins, Appellant. After the parties signed the agreement, Appellee filed motions with the trial court in order to enforce it and to have the court rule on issues she claimed were outside of the agreement. The trial court ruled in favor of Appellee on the majority of the issues and awarded her attorney's fees. Appellant appeals raising seven points: 1-2) the decree of divorce and the trial court's conclusion of law number 10 were incorrect and erroneous as a matter of law because the parties had agreed to a consent judgment approving the agreement and because the trial court rendered judgment approving the entirety of the agreement; 3) the trial court erred in overruling Appellant's motion for new trial, motion to modify the judgment, and motion to reform the judgment because the decree of divorce did not conform to the trial court's oral rendition of the judgment approving the entirety of the agreement; 4) findings of fact numbers 18 and 19 and conclusions of law 6, 7, 8, and 10 and all implied findings of the court below were erroneous as a matter of law or, in the alternative, against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence; 5) the trial court's conclusion of law number 10 was incorrect and erroneous as a matter of law because Appellant was the prevailing party at trial; 6)the trial court's conclusions of law numbers 8 and 10 were incorrect and erroneous as a matter of law because the court below was barred from holding Appellant in constructive contempt without adequate notice and a hearing; and 7) the trial court's findings of fact number 23 and conclusions of law number 11 and 12 were incorrect and erroneous as a matter of law because Appellant's corrected special warranty deed did convey fee simple title to Appellee. We affirm.

FACTS

Appellee and Appellant married in 1990, and Appellee filed for divorce on September 18, 2000. Appellant and Appellee signed the agreement on November 15, 2000. The agreement purported to divide all the property between the parties and settle all of the parties' claims.

Part of the agreement dealt with a house that the two owned during marriage. The agreement required Appellee to refinance the home and to pay Appellant $100,000 from the loan. If Appellee failed to refinance the home within seven days after signing the agreement, the agreement allowed Appellant to refinance the home and then transfer the property to Appellee. When Appellee could not refinance the home, Appellant refinanced the home but failed to properly transfer title to Appellee.

After Appellant failed to transfer the title of the home to Appellee, Appellee filed motions in the trial court asking in part for the court to order Appellant to properly deed the home to her and approve the agreement. The motions also requested the trial court use a "mini-trial" to determine issues that the agreement did not cover. The trial court signed the decree of divorce following the settlement agreement. The court claimed that the costs for refinancing the home was the only issue not controlled by the agreement. The trial court then awarded court costs and attorney's fees to Appellee.

FACTUAL AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY

We will address Appellant's fourth point first because it could prove decisive. In Appellant's fourth point, he contends that findings of facts numbers 18 and 19 and conclusions of law numbers 6, 7, 8, and 10 were erroneous as a matter of law or, in the alternative, against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. The trial court's finding of fact number 18 stated that during the period between September 2000 to the date of the hearings Appellant incurred electric bills at the house owned by the parties. Finding of Fact number 19 stated that during the same time period Appellant incurred $175 for the septic tank fee at the real property of the parties. Conclusion of law number 6 states that it is just and right for Appellant to pay the electric bills incurred at the residence. Conclusion of law number 7 states that it is just and right for Appellant to pay the $175 to repair the septic tank. Conclusion of law number 8 states that it is just and right for Appellant to pay half of the closing costs incurred in refinancing the real property. Conclusion of law number 10 states that it is just and right for Appellant to pay attorney's fees and costs of $14,000, for the benefit of Appellee.

Appellant claims that the agreement between the two parties controls these issues. He contends that paragraph 14 of the agreement specifically calls for Appellee to pay any expense that accrued on the property after the parties signed the agreement. Appellant asserts that because the agreement controlled the issues of the electric bills, the septic tank repairs, and the closing costs the trial court could not find him liable for the expenses. Appellant concludes by saying that if we find the agreement applies, then we must hold that he was the prevailing party at trial and that conclusion of law 10 is erroneous as a matter of law.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Findings of fact entered in a case tried to the court have the same force and dignity as a jury's answers to jury questions. Anderson v. City of Seven Points, 806 S.W.2d 791, 794 (Tex.1991). The trial court's findings of fact are reviewable for legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to support them by the same standards that are applied in reviewing evidence supporting a jury's answer. Ortiz v. Jones, 917 S.W.2d 770, 772 (Tex.1996); Catalina v. Blasdel, 881 S.W.2d 295, 297 (Tex.1994). Conclusions of law may not be challenged for factual sufficiency, but they may be reviewed to determine their correctness based upon the facts. Forbis v. Trinity Universal Ins. Co., 833 S.W.2d 316, 319 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1992, writ dism'd). The trial court's conclusions of law are reviewable de novo as a question of law, and will be upheld on appeal if the judgment can be sustained on any legal theory supported by the evidence. A & W Industries, Inc. v. Day, 977 S.W.2d 738, 741(Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1998, no pet.); Nelkin v. Panzer, 833 S.W.2d 267, 268 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, writ dism'd w.o.j.).

In determining a "no-evidence" point, we are to consider only the evidence and inferences that tend to support the finding and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. Bradford v. Vento, 48 S.W.3d 749, 754 (Tex.2001); Cont'l Coffee Prods. Co. v. Cazarez, 937 S.W.2d 444, 450 (Tex.1996); In re King's Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660, 661 (1951). Anything more than a scintilla of evidence is legally sufficient to support the finding. Cazarez, 937 S.W.2d at 450; Leitch v. Hornsby, 935 S.W.2d 114, 118 (Tex.1996).

A "no-evidence" point may only be sustained when the record discloses one of the following: (1) a complete absence of evidence of a vital fact; (2) the court is barred by rules of law or evidence from giving weight to the only evidence offered to prove a vital fact; (3) the evidence offered to prove a vital fact is no more than a mere scintilla of evidence; or (4) the evidence establishes conclusively the opposite of a vital fact. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. v. Martinez, 977 S.W.2d 328, 334 (Tex.1998) (citing Robert W. Calvert, "No Evidence" and "Insufficient Evidence" Points of Error, 38 TEX. L.REV. 361, 362-63 (1960)), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1040, 119 S.Ct. 1336, 143 L.Ed.2d 500 (1999). There is some evidence when the proof supplies a reasonable basis on which reasonable minds may reach different conclusions about the existence of the vital fact. Orozco v. Sander, 824 S.W.2d 555, 556 (Tex.1992).

An assertion that the evidence is "insufficient" to support a fact finding means that the evidence supporting the finding is so weak or the evidence to the contrary is so overwhelming that the answer should be set aside and a new trial ordered. Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821, 823 (Tex.1965). We are required to consider all of the evidence in the case in making this determination. Mar. Overseas Corp. v. Ellis, 971 S.W.2d 402, 406-07 (Tex.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1017, 119 S.Ct. 541, 142 L.Ed.2d 450 (1998).

DISCUSSION

The trial court's findings of fact 18 and 19 hold Appellant liable for the costs of electric bills and septic tank repairs that accrued while he owned the property. Appellant testified at trial that the bills did accrue while he possessed the property, but Appellee should have paid the bills because she owned the property under the agreement. Appellant states that the bills directly resulted from tenants living on the property who were paying rent to Appellee. Appellant contends that because the agreement made Appellee the true owner of the property and she received rent from the tenants who used the septic system and the electricity, she should be responsible for the bills.

Appellant relies on paragraph 14 of the agreement which states that Appellee "shall assume and discharge the following liabilities and shall indemnify and hold [Appellant] harmless therefrom: A. Any indebtedness secured by property awarded to [Appellee], specifically including any liability associated with the real estate set-aside to [Appellee], hereinbelow; B. Any indebtedness incurred by [Appellee] since separation of the parties." Where no ambiguity exists, it is the court's duty to give words their plain meaning. Kelley-Coppedge, Inc. v. Highlands Ins. Co., 980 S.W.2d 462, 469 (Tex.1...