(Download) "Bernice Smith v. Texas Improvement Company" by Fifth District, Dallas Court of Civil Appeals of Texas # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Bernice Smith v. Texas Improvement Company
- Author : Fifth District, Dallas Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
- Release Date : January 14, 1978
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 64 KB
Description
Bernice Smith sued the Texas Improvement Company (TIC) in the county court at law for damages resulting from alleged breaches of warranty and deceptive trade practices in connection with the sale of an air conditioning unit. In her original petition, Smith did not claim a specific amount of damages; however, in her first amended petition, she claimed damages totaling $5,000.55, which exceeds by fifty-five cents the jurisdictional limit of the county court at law, but prayed for judgment "in the amount of $5,000." A later supplemental petition prayed for judgment "in the amount not to exceed $5,000." Upon trial to a jury, a verdict was returned in the sum of $3,840 in damages, together with $2,000 in attorneys fees. Prior to trial, TIC had filed a plea in abatement alleging that the court lacked jurisdiction because the $5,000.55 claimed in the body of Smiths first amended petition exceeded the jurisdictional limits of the county court at law. After verdict, TIC filed a motion for judgment n. o. v. alleging, among other things, that there was no evidence to support the jurys award of damages. The trial court sustained both the plea in abatement and the motion for judgment n. o. v. and rendered judgment that plaintiff take nothing. Smith has filed a "limitation of appeal" pursuant to Rule 353 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure in an attempt to limit her appeal to the jurisdictional question. We conclude that this limitation is ineffective, and that even though the trial court erred in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction of the case by virtue of the excessive claim in Smiths petition, the motion for judgment n. o. v. was properly sustained. Accordingly, we affirm.