Old v. Lefmark Management Co.
| Decision Date | 24 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-94-00446-CV,01-94-00446-CV |
| Parties | Winona OLD, Individually a/n/f Phillip Albert Fults-Old, Appellant, v. LEFMARK MANAGEMENT COMPANY, Appellee. (1st Dist.) |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Andrew L. Drapkin, Houston, for appellant.
Mike Morris, Houston, for appellee.
Before OLIVER-PARROTT, C.J., and MIRABAL and O'CONNOR, JJ.
OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
We overrule appellee's motion for rehearing, withdraw our July 6, 1995 opinion, and substitute this opinion in its stead.
Plaintiff, Winona Old, filed a wrongful death and survival action against (1) Shipley Do-Nuts & Flour Supply Company, Inc. (Shipley's), (2) the owners and managers of the shopping center where Shipley's was located, and (3) appellee, Lefmark Management Company, the former manager of the shopping center. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Lefmark. The interlocutory judgment became final upon severance, and this appeal followed. We reverse and remand because Lefmark's motion for summary judgment and supporting evidence did not address every theory of recovery pled by plaintiff.
On July 13, 1993, at 12:30 a.m., plaintiff's husband, Phillip Old, went to Shipley Do-Nuts in the Fairbanks Plaza Shopping Center to purchase donuts. As he entered Shipley's, he encountered an armed robbery in progress. He was shot and killed.
In this wrongful death and survival suit, plaintiff alleged that criminal activity was frequent at the shopping center, citing a report of an armed robbery at the same store on June 27, 1993, as well as "eight (8) armed robberies, numerous burglaries and more than 200 calls for service to H.P.D." between August 14, 1991 and July 13, 1993. She further alleged an uncontrolled and unsecured alley ran alongside Shipley's, and a three to four foot wide hole in the fence behind Shipley's allowed potential criminals easy access and escape. Further, she alleged that, on the occasion in question, defendants failed to have a security guard on duty or an adequate security system in place, either in the Shipley's store or on the common premises, even though there were multiple 24-hour businesses in the shopping center. Plaintiff claimed defendants knew or should have known dangerous conditions existed at the shopping center that posed an unreasonable risk of harm to the public and to her husband, and that defendants failed to exercise reasonable care in protecting against, eliminating and/or warning against the dangers.
With regard to appellee Lefmark, plaintiff specifically alleged the following:
In the alternative, and in the event defendant Lefmark was not the property manager on the date of the occurrence in question, plaintiff would show that defendant Lefmark created the following dangerous conditions on the premises in question during its tenure as an independent property manager at Fairbanks Plaza which proximately caused plaintiff's injuries and damages.
1. Lefmark failed to conduct a security risk assessment at Fairbanks Plaza after receiving the Kroger Food Store letter of January 19, 1993;
2. Lefmark failed to notify its successors of the contents of the Kroger letter;
3. Lefmark failed to notify its successors of the history of excessive criminal activity in and around Fairbanks Plaza during its tenure;
4. Lefmark failed to promulgate a satisfactory security program to protect the Fairbanks Plaza business guests;
5. Lefmark failed to repair a three to four (3 to 4) foot wide hole in the Fairbanks Plaza perimeter fence directly behind Shipley Do-Nuts thereby allowing potential criminals easy and surreptitious ingress and escape to and from the property. 1
Lefmark's summary judgment evidence shows that, effective April 13, 1993, three months prior to the involved incident, Lefmark was removed as managing agent for Fairbanks Plaza. On the date of the incident, July 13, 1993, Lefmark did not own, occupy, manage, possess or otherwise have any control of the shopping center. Accordingly, Lefmark moved for summary judgment on the grounds that, because the assault on Mr. Old took place when Lefmark was no longer manager, Lefmark had no duty to Mr. Old and therefore could not be found negligent, as a matter of law.
Plaintiff's responsive summary judgment evidence showed that, prior to April 13, 1993, Lefmark was an independent contractor providing management services for the owner of the Fairbanks Plaza shopping center. During its management term, Lefmark received a letter dated January 19, 1993, from Kroger Food Stores, one of the tenants at Fairbanks Plaza, which reads in part:
Please be advised that our Kroger store located at 14147 N.W. Freeway @ Fairbanks N. Houston, Houston, Texas experienced armed robberies on October 19, 1992 and November 23, 1992. This incident was reported to the police department and is currently under investigation.
Since we are necessarily concerned about the safety of the customers and employees of this shopping center, we respectfully request that you make each tenant aware of the incident. Additionally, we would appreciate any information concerning criminal activity experienced by other tenants in the shopping center. Please forward this information to Ed Wilson ... or myself. We will, in turn, contact our store personnel at the location named above.
As a result of this robbery and the concern about crime in general, please conduct a crime activity survey of the immediate area of this shopping center and advise the tenants of the results. Additionally, if the results of this survey indicate additional security is needed for the common areas please take the appropriate action necessary to protect our employees and customers.
Plaintiff argued in her response to Lefmark's motion for summary judgment that Lefmark had knowledge of dangerous conditions on the property, and it therefore had a duty to at least convey its knowledge of the dangerous conditions to its successors. Plaintiff reasoned:
Under defendant's theory, had Lefmark known of a time bomb buried in the Fairbank's Plaza parking lot during its control period, it would have been relieved of liability for the bomb's damage had it exploded after defendant was relieved of its management duties. This is not a correct interpretation of Texas law under the facts of this case.
The trial court rejected plaintiff's argument, and granted summary judgment to Lefmark.
The standard for appellate review of a summary judgment for a defendant is whether the summary judgment proof establishes, as a matter of law, that there is no genuine issue of fact as to one or more of the essential elements of the plaintiff's cause of action. Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970). The movant has the burden to show that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985). Evidence favorable to the non-movant will be taken as true in deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue that precludes summary judgment. Id. Every reasonable inference must be indulged in favor of the non-movant and any doubts resolved in its favor. Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 310-11 (Tex.1984). A summary judgment for the defendant, disposing of the entire case, is proper only if, as a matter of law, plaintiff could not succeed upon any theories pleaded. Smith, Seckman, Reid, Inc. v. Metro Nat'l Corp., 836 S.W.2d 817, 819 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, no writ); Havens v. Tomball Community Hosp., 793 S.W.2d 690, 691 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, writ denied); Dodson v. Kung, 717 S.W.2d 385, 390 (Tex.App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, writ ref'd n.r.e.). Once the defendant produces sufficient evidence to establish the right to a summary judgment, the plaintiff must set forth sufficient evidence to give rise to a fact issue to avoid a summary judgment. "Moore" Burger, Inc. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 492 S.W.2d 934, 936-37 (Tex.1972).
A summary judgment cannot be affirmed on any grounds not presented in the motion for summary judgment. Hall v. Harris County Water Control and Improvement Dist. No. 50, 683 S.W.2d 863, 867 (Tex.App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1984, no writ). When a trial court's order does not specify the grounds relied on for its ruling, the summary judgment will be affirmed if any of the theories advanced are meritorious. Insurance Co. of North Am. v. Security Ins. Co., 790 S.W.2d 407, 410 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no writ).
In her second point of error, plaintiff asserts the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on a "no duty" theory because the law clearly places a duty on a prior possessor of property to...
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Lefmark Management Co. v. Old
...granted summary judgment for Lefmark and then severed that judgment. The court of appeals reversed and remanded for trial on the merits. 908 S.W.2d 16. We determine that Lefmark owed no legal duty to Old under the circumstances of this case. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court......