Robert Andrew Shaw, Carl Kirk Hastings, Ponderosa Petroleum, Inc., and WFS Asset Management, Ltd. v. American Bank of Commerce

Summary

The Seventh District Court of Appeals of Texas reversed and remanded a modified final summary judgment awarding American Bank of Commerce a deficiency judgment following foreclosure. The court held that the bank failed to provide legally sufficient evidence of the reasonableness and necessity of its attorney’s fees under Rohrmoos Venture v. UTSW DVA Healthcare, LLP, and that the trial court abused its discretion by denying the defendants leave to amend their answer to assert a fair-market-value offset under Texas Property Code section 51.003.

Holdings

1. The bank was not entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law because its evidence did not establish the reasonableness and necessity of the attorney's fees awarded or the damages that incorporated those fees.
2. The trial court abused its discretion by denying the appellants leave to amend their answer to assert a fair-market-value offset under Texas Property Code section 51.003 because the bank did not show surprise or prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment when the bank's evidence was legally insufficient to establish the reasonableness and necessity of its attorney's fees and related damages.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying the appellants leave to amend their answer to assert a fair-market-value offset under Texas Property Code section 51.003.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded