Rogelio Rodriguez v. Nicolas Golarte d/b/a Talk N Talk Wireless & Satellites

Summary

The Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas considered whether the trial court properly granted a plea to the jurisdiction after entering a summary judgment order and whether the order disposed of claims added in an amended petition. The court held that the negligent misrepresentation and fraud claims survived the summary judgment order, that the trial court retained plenary power over those claims, and that granting the plea to the jurisdiction was erroneous. The judgment was reversed and remanded.

Holdings

1. The negligent misrepresentation and fraud claims survived the summary judgment order because neither the motion, the order, nor the record showed that the trial court intended to dispose of those newly added claims.
2. The amended petition was timely because the March 2016 docket control order nullified the prior summary judgment submission date, and Talk N Talk neither objected to the amendment nor showed surprise or prejudice.
3. Because the negligent misrepresentation and fraud claims survived the summary judgment order, the trial court retained plenary power over those claims when it granted Talk N Talk's plea to the jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court's summary judgment order disposed of Rodriguez's negligent misrepresentation and fraud claims that were added by amended petition before the order was signed.
2. Whether Rodriguez's amended petition was untimely and therefore could not add claims that survived the summary judgment order.
3. Whether the trial court retained plenary power over the surviving claims when it granted Talk N Talk's plea to the jurisdiction.
4. Whether the court of appeals had jurisdiction over the appeal from the 2018 plea to the jurisdiction.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded