Charles Louis Hogan, Jr. v. Kenneth Everett

Summary

The Texas Fourth Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Kenneth Everett on Charles Louis Hogan, Jr.'s breach-of-contract claim arising from an alleged oral agreement to convey a 66-acre tract. The court held that the trial court acted within its discretion in disregarding Hogan's incomplete and untimely affidavit. It reversed summary judgment on Hogan's fraud, unjust-enrichment, and declaratory-judgment claims because Everett's no-evidence motion lacked the required specificity and his traditional summary-judgment evidence did not establish entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, and it remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by declining to consider the late-filed portions of Hogan's affidavit after Hogan failed to comply with the court's deadline for filing the complete affidavit.
2. The motion sufficiently challenged the essential element of a valid oral contract, and Hogan failed to produce more than a scintilla of evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact on that element.
3. The motion was insufficient as a matter of law because it made only generalized assertions that Hogan had no evidence to support those claims and did not identify the challenged elements.
4. Everett was not entitled to traditional summary judgment because his evidence did not conclusively disprove an element of any of those claims or establish his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to consider the complete version of Hogan's affidavit.
2. Whether Everett's no-evidence motion for summary judgment sufficiently specified the challenged elements of Hogan's breach-of-contract, fraud, unjust-enrichment, and declaratory-judgment claims.
3. Whether Everett was entitled to traditional summary judgment on Hogan's fraud, unjust-enrichment, and declaratory-judgment claims.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded