Sagebrush Sales Co. v. Strauss

• Decision Date: 12 September 1980
• Docket Number: No. B-8910,B-8910
• Parties: SAGEBRUSH SALES COMPANY, Petitioner, v. Richard C. STRAUSS et al., Respondents.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 857

605 S.W.2d 857

SAGEBRUSH SALES COMPANY, Petitioner, v. Richard C. STRAUSS et al., Respondents.

No. B-8910.

Supreme Court of Texas.

Sept. 12, 1980.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 1980.

Thomas P. Earls, Dallas, for petitioner.

Jackson, Walker, Winstead, Cantwell & Miller, Jack Pew, Dallas, for respondents.

BARROW, Justice.

Sagebrush Sales Company brought this suit against Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc., Crawford-Strauss Properties, Strauss Investments, Strauss Investments, Inc., and Richard C. Strauss to recover the balance due for goods and materials shipped by Sagebrush to "Crawford-Strauss" for use in construction of The Way Apartments at San Antonio, Texas.

The trial court rendered judgment on a jury verdict against all defendants for the principal sum owing plus prejudgment interest and attorneys' fees. The court of civil appeals affirmed as to Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc., but reversed the judgment of the trial court and rendered a take-nothing judgment as to the other defendants. 598 S.W.2d 1. It held that there was no evidence to support the jury findings which impose liability upon any defendant other than Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc. We disagree. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of civil appeals and remand the cause to that court for consideration of respondents' factual insufficiency points over which we have no jurisdiction.

The jury found in part: Richard C. Strauss acted, by himself or through his authorized agents, in such a manner as to lead Sagebrush to reasonably believe that the names Richard C. Strauss d/b/a Crawford-Strauss Properties and Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc. were two different names referring to the same person, namely Richard C. Strauss; Richard C. Strauss so acted with intent that Sagebrush rely upon that belief in extending credit for construction of The Way Apartments; that Sagebrush reasonably relied upon those acts in so extending credit; and that the affairs of Crawford-Strauss Properties (a Texas General Partnership), Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc., Strauss Investment, and Strauss Investment, Inc. were indistinguishable from the affairs of Richard C. Strauss and that he controlled each.

It is a well-settled rule that when a party asserts that there is no evidence to support jury findings, we must review the record in its most favorable light, considering only the evidence and inferences which support the findings, and rejecting the evidence and inferences contrary to the findings. Stodghill v. Texas Emp. Ins. Ass'n, 582 S.W.2d 102 (Tex.1979); Martinez v. Delta Brands, Inc., 515 S.W.2d 263 (Tex.1974); Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821 (Tex.1965).

When the record is viewed in this light, we find that there is evidence of probative force to support the jury findings. This controversy had its inception in mid-spring of 1973 when John Cheshire, credit manager of Sagebrush, was advised by one of its salesmen that Crawford-Strauss desired to purchase substantial lumber and other materials for use in constructing several apartment complexes Crawford-Strauss was going to build in Memphis, Tennessee; Tampa, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. Sagebrush, a New Mexico Corporation, is in the wholesale lumber business. Cheshire contacted R. E. Scammell of Crawford-Strauss who apparently had made the deal with the Sagebrush salesman in his capacity as purchasing agent. Cheshire requested that Scammell send Sagebrush credit information in that it was contemplated that credit of from $200,000 to $300,000 would be required. In response to this request, Scammell sent Sagebrush a detailed financial statement of "Richard C. Strauss, d/b/a Crawford-Strauss Properties."

This statement was reasonably calculated to cause Cheshire and Sagebrush to believe that the projects in question were being constructed by Richard C. Strauss and that he did business under the name of "Crawford-Strauss Properties." The financial statement demonstrated this affirmatively and, by silence, negated that he operated through a corporate entity. The statement listed in part:

Although he listed stock holdings in twenty-three corporations, Richard C. Strauss DID NOT include Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc. or Strauss Investment, Inc. or any corporation with a similar name. Also, he included as a part of his real estate holdings, 100% ownership of the tracts of land where the apartments were to be constructed. All of these holdings were shown as being owned by Richard C. Strauss, individually and doing business under the assumed name of "Crawford-Strauss Properties."

With this background, it is not unreasonable that Cheshire or any other official of Sagebrush was not disturbed that the purchase orders for the over $800,000 worth of goods came on forms of Crawford-Strauss Properties, Inc. and were signed under that name by Scammell as "Purchasing Agent." The account was set up by Sagebrush in the name of "Crawford-Strauss" and all invoices and loading manifests were sent in this name without objection by anyone on behalf of respondents. Although over $500,000 worth of these invoices were paid, none were paid with a Crawford-Strauss Properties Inc. check or through an account in that name. To the contrary, these invoices were paid by checks drawn on several different "Strauss Investment" accounts which were assumed names of Richard C....