Press Energy Servs., LLC v. Ruiz
| Decision Date | 16 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | 08-19-00179-CV |
| Citation | 650 S.W.3d 23 |
| Parties | PRESS ENERGY SERVICES, LLC and Christopher James Nissley, Appellants, v. Javier Bustillos RUIZ, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: Brian J. Cathey, Thomas C. Wright, Wright Close & Barger LLP, One Riverway, Ste. 2200, Houston, TX 77056, James M. Parker, Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee, PLLC, 10001 Reunion Place, Ste. 600, San Antonio, TX 78216.
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: Ryan D. V. Greene, Terrill & Waldrop, 810 West 10th Street, Austin, TX 78701.
Before Rodriguez, C.J., Palafox, and Alley, JJ.
GINA M. PALAFOX, Justice Following a collision on a two-lane highway, Appellee Javier Bustillos Ruiz (Bustillos) filed suit for negligence and gross negligence against Appellants, Christopher James Nissley (Nissley) and Press Energy Services, LLC (Press Energy). The jury returned a verdict in favor of Bustillos and awarded substantial damages. On appeal, Appellants Nissley and Press Energy challenge the trial court's rulings pertaining to voir dire, admission of evidence, and closing arguments. Additionally, Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages. Finding no error, we affirm.
Bustillos and Nissley both worked as commercial truck drivers. On December 6, 2017, Bustillos was driving his 18-wheeler-tractor-trailer southbound on a stretch of US-285 when he and Nissley, who was similarly driving an 18-wheeler-tractor-trailer but heading northbound, collided in the southbound lane of traffic. At the time of the collision, Nissley worked as a water hauler for Press Energy.
The impact of the collision knocked Bustillos' cab off the frame of his tractor-trailer. Bustillos was left unconscious and, when his vehicle caught on fire, rescuers extracted him from his cab. He was taken to an emergency room where he was treated and released after several hours but later sought additional treatment to include surgeries performed on his hands and shoulder. He sustained injuries to his knee, shoulder, head, face, and both hands; with some injuries projected as being permanent. At trial, Bustillos testified he experienced ongoing headaches, bodily pains, and emotional harm stemming from his injuries.
Bustillos filed suit alleging negligent acts of Nissley proximately caused the collision and his resulting injuries and damages; that Press Energy was vicariously liable for Nissley's negligence; that Press Energy was liable for its own negligent entrustment, hiring, training, supervision, and retention; and that Press Energy was liable for its own negligent maintenance of its commercial vehicles. He further alleged Appellants' acts of negligence were of such character as to make each defendant guilty of gross negligence. Bustillos sought recovery for past and future damages to include lost wages, medical care expenses, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. Later, however, he amended his claims such that his live petition only sought recovery of damages related to physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement; in other words, he no longer sought claims for lost wages or medical expenses.
At trial, the jury heard testimony from the two drivers, Bustillos and Nissley, and nine other witnesses. Bustillos described he saw Nissley's truck come into his lane of traffic. Nissley, however, testified Bustillos' truck migrated toward the center line of the two-lane road, eventually entered his lane of traffic, which forced him to swerve defensively to avoid a collision. The swerve, he claimed, caused the wheels of his truck to come into contact with the shoulder of the road. As he attempted to return the rig to the paved roadway, the trailer of the truck jackknifed and crashed into Bustillos' vehicle. Traveling directly behind Nissley, an eyewitness testified he saw the brakes of Nissley's truck lock-up, causing the rig to cross the road and collide with oncoming traffic.
Experts hired by each side jointly conducted a post-accident inspection of Nissley's vehicle—Will Miller for Bustillos and Nicholas Kasner for Press Energy. Miller testified at trial that he had made observations about conditions observed on Nissley's vehicle which supported his findings. He also disclosed that he spoke with Kasner during their joint inspection and they had both agreed there were defects on Nissley's truck that pre-existed the collision. Because Kasner had been designated as a consulting-only expert and his status remained unchanged throughout discovery, the trial court did not permit him to personally testify, even as rebuttal to Miller's description of their joint inspection.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict wherein it assigned negligence to Nissley and Press Energy and none to Bustillos. The jury also found that Bustillos' damages resulted from gross negligence attributable to each Appellant. The total award of compensatory damages amounted to $3 million.1 Also, exemplary damages were assessed against each Appellant, $2 million against Press Energy and $300,000 against Nissley. Based on a statutory cap, the trial court reduced the exemplary damages against Press Energy to $750,000.
Following the jury's verdict, Bustillos filed a motion for judgment while Appellants filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The trial court entered judgment according to the jury's verdict and the exemplary damages cap; awarding Bustillos $3 million in compensatory damages, as well as $300,000 in exemplary damages from Nissley, and $750,000 from Press Energy. Appellants then filed a motion for new trial, which was denied. This appeal followed.
In Issue One, Appellants argue several sub-issues asserting the trial court made multiple, harmful evidentiary errors. Appellants assert the trial court erred: (1) in excluding proof of Bustillos' medical bills; (2) in preventing Appellants from rebutting the hearsay testimony of Bustillos' expert; and (3) in admitting character evidence in the form of DOT inspection violations. Appellants argue these errors—whether viewed singularly or cumulatively—warrant a new trial.
"Evidentiary rulings are committed to the trial court's sound discretion." U-Haul Intern., Inc. v. Waldrip , 380 S.W.3d 118, 132 (Tex. 2012) ; DeAnder & Felhaber, LP v. Montgomery , 615 S.W.3d 352, 356 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2020, pet. denied). "A trial court abuses this discretion when it acts without regard for guiding rules or principles." Waldrip , 380 S.W.3d at 132 (citing Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. v. Malone , 972 S.W.2d 35, 43 (Tex. 1998) ). But even if a trial court's evidentiary ruling is an abuse of discretion, reversal is appropriate only if the error was harmful. Id. ; TEX. R. APP. P. 44.1.
In the first sub-issue, Appellants argue the trial court erred in excluding Bustillos' medical bills, which they had tried to admit as evidence.2 Over three months before trial, Bustillos amended his pleadings to exclude a request for recovery of his medical expenses. His live petition merely pleaded for damages for physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. After Bustillos abandoned his claim to recover medical expenses, he argued his treatment bills were irrelevant because he no longer sought recovery of those damages. Citing to the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Haygood ,3 he argued that "only evidence of recoverable medical expenses" are admissible at trial. Distinguishing Haygood from the facts at hand, Appellants argued that Bustillos' economic damages were tethered to his claims of noneconomic damages; and they urged the bills were admissible as a guidepost for the jury's determination of noneconomic damages.
As they did below, Appellants argue here that Bustillos' medical bills are relevant to the jury's consideration of noneconomic damages. Appellants argue the award of noneconomic damages would be made randomly and without merit absent the records tendered by their bill of exception. Bustillos responds that Appellants waived admissibility of such evidence by failing to plead a defense based on his medical expenses; and, during discovery, they failed to disclose the relevance of his medical bills as a basis for contesting noneconomic damages. And, even if not waived, Bustillos argues the Supreme Court of Texas has held that the prejudicial impact of such evidence, when not recoverable to an asserted claim, outweighs any possible relevance to plaintiff's noneconomic damages.
We first address Bustillos' two waiver arguments. First, Bustillos argues Appellants, in effect, waived their evidentiary argument by failing to timely plead an affirmative defense to noneconomic damages based on the extent of Bustillos' medical charges. Responding, Appellants deny they raised an affirmative defense by seeking admission of the excluded records. We agree that no affirmative defense was asserted by Appellants' argument.
By its very nature, an affirmative defense is a defense of confession and avoidance. Tex. Beef Cattle Co. v. Green , 921 S.W.2d 203, 212 (Tex. 1996). "An affirmative defense does not seek to defend by merely denying the plaintiff's claims, but rather seeks to establish ‘an independent reason why the plaintiff should not recover.’ " Id. (quoting 2 ROY W. MCDONALD , TEXAS CIVIL PRACTICE § 9:44, at 378 (1992)). "An affirmative defense must be pleaded in a responsive pleading, or the defense will be waived." Roth v. JPMorgan Chase Bank , 439 S.W.3d 508, 513 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2014, no pet.). Here, the medical bills were offered to refute noneconomic damages, not as an "independent reason why the plaintiff should not recover." Tex. Beef Cattle Co. , 921 S.W.2d at 212. We conclude that Appellants did not waive their evidentiary argument by not pleading an affirmative defense.
Bustillos next argues, pursuant to...
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