Motion for No-Evidence Summary Judgment Granted in Professional Liability Case
Mar 31, 2022
Austin partner Erika Laremont had a Motion for No-Evidence Summary Judgment affirmed by an appellate court for her clients, a Condo Owner Association (COA) and Property Management Company.
Background
A condominium owner sued his condo owners association, individual board members, and the property management company for drainage issues to his downhill property. The association had previously attempted to remediate, but not to the satisfaction of the Plaintiff. He brought this third lawsuit that claimed permanent and temporary damage to his property and sued the association, board members and property management company for breach of contract, DTPA violations, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and conspiracy. The lower court granted Motions for No-Evidence Summary Judgment for all parties because Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that his property suffered any damage.
Analysis
The First Court of Appeals determined that Plaintiff lacked standing to sue for damages to the common area since he was only a partial owner of the property and the association objected to him seeking damages unless all owners consented. The appellate court also determined that Plaintiff’s own experts testified that the alleged damage to his property was able to be repaired, which defeated his claim for permanent property damage. Finally, Plaintiff’s experts testified that they observed no damage to Plaintiff’s property and that they were offered varying solutions to remediate common area drainage, which was insufficient to demonstrate that Plaintiff’s property suffered temporary damage. Failure to present any evidence of damage defeated all of Plaintiff’s claims.
Related Services
Related Resources
