DALLAS COURT OF APPEALS CONTINUES TO REIN IN THE TCPA’S APPLICABILITY TO BUSINESS DISPUTES

Palladium Metal Recycling, LLC v. 5G Metals, Inc.

Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-19-00482-CV (July 28, 2020)

Justices Bridges, Molberg (Opinion, linked here), and Partida-Kipness

Woods Capital Enterprises, LLC v. DXC Technology Services, LLC

Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-19-00380-CV (July 29, 2020)

Justices Pedersen, III, Reichek (Opinion, linked here), and Carlyle (Concurrence, linked here)

Ken Carroll

In a pair of opinions this week, the Dallas Court of Appeals continued its trend of holding the TCPA inapplicable to many private business disputes. Palladium arose from a disagreement regarding a joint venture to acquire and re-sell scrap metals. Woods Capital grew out of a failed agreement for the sale of a large tract of commercial real estate. In each case, the Court of Appeals held the TCPA’s free-speech and right-of-association protections did not apply to communications and conduct focused on the business dealings of the parties involved. In each case, the Court referenced the stated purpose of the TCPA to protect “public participation” and drew upon the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Creative Oil & Gas, LLC v. Lona Hills Ranch, LLC, 591 S.W.3d 127 (Tex. 2019). A sampling of the Court’s observations in the two cases:

• “The TCPA’s purpose of curbing strategic lawsuits against public participation is not furthered by a construction finding a right of association based simply on communications between parties with a shared interest in a private business transaction.”

• Rejecting a TCPA free-speech attack, the Court held the allegations targeted by the motion “lack any communications regarding matters of public concern as opposed to private pecuniary interests and thus do not implicate the TCPA’s protection of Palladium’s exercise of the right of free speech.”

• Acknowledging that the TCPA defines “matters of public concern”—the linchpin of TCPA free-speech protection—to include “issues related to health or safety; environmental, economic, or community well-being; the government; a public official or public figure; or a good, product, or service in the marketplace,” the Court cautioned that “not every communication related to one of the broad categories set out in [the statute] always regards a matter of public concern.” Because the record was “devoid of allegations or evidence that the dispute had any relevance beyond the pecuniary interests of the private parties involved,” the Court refused to find TCPA free-speech protections applicable.

• “This Court has consistently held that to constitute an exercise of the right of association under the TCPA, the nature of the communication between individuals who join together must involve public or citizen participation.”

Beyond its pronouncements on the applicability of the TCPA to business disputes, each decision also included an additional holding to which litigants should be alert. In Palladium, the Court held the TCPA movant had waived its objections to the non-movants’ evidence because it had not obtained a ruling on those objections and had not objected to the trial court’s failure to rule.

In Woods Capital, the Court ruled that the movant had “forfeited its [TCPA] motion” by failing to schedule a hearing within the period prescribed by statute. The TCPA allows the parties to delay a hearing by agreement for up to 90 days after service of the motion. A hearing may be delayed up to 120 days only if the court, upon a showing of good cause, “allows” limited discovery related to the TCPA motion. Reaffirming its ruling earlier this summer in Walker v. Pegasus Eventing, LLC, the Court held that the parties’ agreement to conduct discovery and the court’s acquiescence does not equate to “allowance” by the court that triggers the extra 30 days. Consequently, failure to schedule a hearing within the 90-day period, without court “allowance” of discovery, resulted in forfeiture of the motion.

TAX-COLLECTION LAW FIRM IS NOT IMMUNE FROM VENDOR’S SUIT

Linebarger Goggan Blair & Simpson, LLP v. TinStar Title Inc.

Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-19-00614-CV (July16, 2020)

Justices Whitehill, Schenck, and Evans (Opinion linked here)

Lyndon Bittle

A law firm that collects delinquent tax accounts for Dallas County and other taxing entities is not protected by governmental immunity from lawsuits by its subcontractor, according to the Dallas Court of Appeals. Importantly, the case did not involve claims brought by taxpayers.

The Linebarger law firm contracted to perform tax-collection services for Dallas County and other taxing entities, and subcontracted title-abstract services to TinStar. When TinStar sued Linebarger for breach of contract and various business torts, Linebarger asserted governmental immunity in a plea to the jurisdiction. The trial court denied the plea, and Linebarger filed both an interlocutory appeal and a mandamus petition.

The Dallas Court of Appeals first held it lacked jurisdiction to consider Linebarger’s interlocutory appeal under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 51.014(8), which authorizes interlocutory appeals from orders granting or denying a plea to the jurisdiction by a “governmental unit.” At least in the context of a private dispute between Linebarger and one of its subcontractors, the Court found Linebarger is not a “governmental unit” as that term is defined in the Tort Claims Act, CPRC § 101.003(a). The Court distinguished University of the Incarnate Word v. Redus, 518 S.W.3d 905 (Tex. 2017), in which the Supreme Court extended governmental immunity to a private university defending the actions of its police department created under express legislative authority because the “department was part of the state’s larger law enforcement system.”

The Court held it could address Linebarger’s mandamus petition under its original-proceeding jurisdiction, but denied mandamus relief. The Tort Claims Act retains governmental immunity for claims arising in connection with the assessment or collection of taxes by a governmental unit. CPRC § 101.055(1). Following Brown and Gay Eng’g v. Olivares, 461 S.W.3d 117 (Tex. 2015), however, the Court found that Linebarger’s contract with the County made Linebarger an independent contractor and that the County did not “control in any way how Linebarger used title abstractors to perform its contract with the County.” It distinguished several previous cases invoking governmental immunity, because those cases involved “taxpayers asserting claims for actions taken by the taxing authority through Linebarger as its agent”—not for the law firm’s “independent actions.”

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: DOMINANT JURISDICTION AND PRIMARY VS. ANCILLARY RELIEF

In re Ahmed Zidan

Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-20-00595-CV (July 15, 2020)

Justices Bridges (Dissent, linked here), Osborne (Opinion, linked here), and Reichek

Ken Carroll

Ahmed Zidan and his uncle Alex had a falling out about their joint business venture. Ahmed sued Alex in Collin County. A couple months later, Alex sued Ahmed in Harris County. The Collin County court directed the parties to brief whether that court or the Harris County court had dominant jurisdiction. Ahmed argued Collin County acquired dominant jurisdiction because that case was first filed and venue was proper there. Alex responded that first-filed rules didn’t apply because venue was mandatory in Harris County and Ahmed lacked a bona fide intent to prosecute the Collin County suit. The Collin County trial court sided with Alex and abated and administratively closed that case. On mandamus, however, a divided panel of the Dallas Court of Appeals agreed with Ahmed that dominant jurisdiction lay with the Collin County Court.

The appeals court explained, “When two inherently interrelated suits are pending in two counties, the court in which suit is first filed generally acquires dominant jurisdiction to the exclusion of other courts if venue is proper there.” The Court had no difficulty concluding the two lawsuits were logically and “inherently interrelated,” because “the same facts will be dispositive in both suits.” It also brushed aside Alex’s argument that the “first-filed” rule should not apply because Ahmed had engaged in “inequitable conduct” and had no “bona fide intention to prosecute the [Collin County] suit.” Ahmed had excercised ample diligence in pursuing his lawsuit, the Court held, and brief delays in seeking citation and effecting service did not show otherwise.

The major point of contention was venue. In his Collin County action, Ahmed had sought injunctive relief against Alex, a Harris County resident, as well as the appointment of a receiver for the businesses, one of which allegedly was domiciled in Harris County, albeit ostensibly to protect real estate held by the company in Collin County. Section 65.023 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code—regarding injunctions—and sections 11.401 and 11.402(b) of the Business Organizations Code—regarding receiverships—would seem to make venue in Harris County mandatory for such claims. But, the panel majority said, those mandatory venue provisions do not apply unless the request for injunctive or receivership relief is the “primary” focus of the lawsuit. Here, it reasoned, because Ahmed’s live pleadings sought a receiver only with respect to real property in Collin County and that and his request for injunctive relief were “simply to maintain the status quo pending resolution of the lawsuit,” those requests were “ancillary” and not the “primary” relief sought. Venue therefore was not mandatory in Harris County.

The dissent took a different view of Ahmed’s pleadings and requests for relief. It argued that Ahmed’s live pleading expressly sought permanent as well as temporary injunctive relief, and that the request for a receivership, even if focused on Collin County real property, extended to the Harris County entity that apparently owned that property. Neither request for relief, therefore, could be regarded as “ancillary,” the dissent contended, and therefore the statutes mandating venue in Harris County applied, supporting the trial court’s decision and rendering mandamus relief inappropriate.

GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL NOT IMMUNE FROM SUIT FOR MISPLACED SURGICAL SPONGE

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Rhoades

Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-19-00445-CV (June 30, 2020)

Justices Molberg, Partida-Kipness (Opinion linked here), and Bridges (Concurring and Dissenting Opinion linked here)

Lyndon Bittle

A divided Dallas Court of Appeals panel held the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) does not have governmental immunity in a lawsuit arising from a medical team’s failure to remove a sponge during surgery.

As a breast reconstruction operation neared conclusion, the medical staff reported one of the surgical sponges used to absorb blood during the operation was missing. After a visual search of the surgical field did not reveal the location of the sponge, the doctor ordered x-rays with a portable x-ray machine. The missing sponge did not appear on x-rays of the chest and abdomen. The patient’s position did not allow x-rays of the pelvic area, but the doctor was confident the sponge would not have been there, and concluded the sponges must have been miscounted. The surgery was concluded and the patient was sent to intensive care for recovery. The search for the missing sponge added several hours to what normally would have been a six-hour surgery.

While the patient was recovering, an x-ray of her pelvic region revealed the missing sponge, which was then removed in a second surgery. The patient developed post-operative complications that required four additional surgeries. The patient sued UTSW for medical negligence. UTSW filed a plea to the jurisdiction on the grounds that as a governmental hospital, it is immune from the patient’s suit. The trial court denied the plea, finding immunity was waived under the Texas Tort Claims Act. UTSW appealed.

On appeal, the dispositive issue was whether UTSW’s governmental immunity was waived because the alleged injuries were caused by the negligent “use of tangible personal … property” under the TTCA, TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §101.021(2). Two separate items were at issue—the surgical sponge and the x-ray machine. UTSW argued that the claims “arise from the surgeons’ allegedly negligent medical judgment, for which immunity is not waived.” The Court affirmed the trial court’s holding as to both items, after a painstaking review of cases applying the “use of personal property” waiver of immunity, including University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center v. McKenzie, 578 S.W.3d 506 (Tex. 2019). Justice Partida-Kipness’s majority opinion, rejecting UTSW’s argument, emphasized that the doctor’s “erroneous decision to call off the search and close the remaining incisions followed the allegedly negligent use of the sponge.” Likewise, according to the majority, immunity was waived by the allegation and jurisdictional evidence that “UTSW used the machine negligently by failing to x-ray the entire surgical field.”

Justice Bridges joined the majority’s conclusion that UTSW waived immunity “for negligent use of the sponge during the operation.” He dissented, however, from the holding concerning use of the x-ray machine, arguing that the majority improperly expanded the Texas Supreme Court’s holding in McKenzie “to create jurisdiction where none exists.” Offering a detailed rebuttal to the majority’s review of the case law, Justice Bridges concluded the “negligence claims alleging misuse of the x-ray machine are artfully pleaded complaints about UTSW surgeons’ and radiology staff’s medical judgments, rather than use or misuse of tangible personal property.”