Hamilton v. Pechacek

319 S.W.3d 801

Jim H. HAMILTON, Jr., Appellant,v.Emil J. PECHACEK, Appellee.

No. 2-09-115-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas Fort Worth.

March 11, 2010.

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Jim H. Hamilton, Jr., Iowa Park, TX, pro se.

Greg Abbott, Attorney General, David A. Talbot, Jr., Attorney General, Chief, Law Enforcement Defense Division, C. Andrew Webber, First Asst. Attorney General, David S. Morales, Deputy Attorney General for Litigation, Harold Liller, Assistant Attorney General, Austin, TX, for Appellee.

PANEL: LIVINGSTON, WALKER, and MEIER, JJ.

OPINION

SUE WALKER, Justice.

I. Introduction

Appellant Jim H. Hamilton, Jr., an inmate proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, challenges the trial court's order dismissing his lawsuit against Appellee Emil J. Pechacek. In five points, Hamilton asserts that the trial court erred by dismissing his suit with prejudice under chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code without conducting a hearing on Pechacek's motion to dismiss or on Hamilton's motion for new trial. We will affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

Hamilton is an inmate housed in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's (TDCJ) James Allred unit in Wichita County, Texas. Pechacek is an employee of the TDCJ and a correctional officer at the Allred unit. Hamilton alleges that on January 9, 2008, Pechacek caused a cup of hot coffee to be spilled on him and his personal property. Hamilton specifically alleges that Pechacek intentionally or negligently grabbed a coat that had legal papers and a cup of “extremely hot” coffee on top of it, threw the coat, and thus caused the cup of coffee “to make contact with ... Hamilton's chest and stomach area” and his legal papers. Hamilton further alleges that Pechacek's actions caused first-degree burns on Hamilton's chest and stomach and the destruction of legal papers valued at $166.

Hamilton filed a TDCJ grievance against Pechacek, which was denied. Hamilton then filed suit against Pechacek in district court claiming that Pechacek assaulted him and violated his rights under the Texas constitution, Texas Penal Code, Texas Government Code, and TDCJ's rules, policies, and procedures. Hamilton also requested an eight-point injunction prohibiting Pechacek from assaulting him or otherwise violating his rights.¹ Although Hamilton's original petition does not expressly allege violations of Hamilton's rights under the United States Constitution, it may be liberally construed as asserting violations of his federal rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.²

Pechacek answered and moved to dismiss Hamilton's lawsuit under chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Chapter 14 sets out special procedural rules that apply to an inmate lawsuit in which the inmate files an affidavit or unsworn declaration of inability to pay costs, except for suits brought under the family code. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. §§ 14.001-.014 (Vernon 2002). Pechacek specifically asserted that the majority of Hamilton's claims should be dismissed as frivolous and that all of his claims should be dismissed because Hamilton did not comply with chapter 14's requirement that he file a copy of the TDCJ's written grievance decision.

Hamilton filed a verified objection to Pechacek's motion to dismiss and a “Motion for Bench Warrant or In the Alternative Motion for Hearing by Conference Call.” The trial court set Pechacek's motion to dismiss for hearing by submission only and ultimately granted the motion without conducting an oral or evidentiary hearing. The trial court entered a final judgment dismissing all of Hamilton's claims “on the merits” as frivolous for failure to comply with chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Hamilton filed a motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion for new trial without conducting an evidentiary hearing, and this appeal followed.

III. Motion for New Trial

In his first point, Hamilton argues that the trial court erred by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his motion for new trial because his verified motion raises controverted matters that are not determinable from the record.

We review a trial court's denial of a motion for new trial for an abuse of discretion. See Cliff v. Huggins, 724 S.W.2d 778, 778-79 (Tex.1987). To determine whether a trial court abused its discretion, we must decide whether the trial court acted without reference to any guiding rules or principles; in other words, we must decide whether the act was arbitrary or unreasonable. Cire v. Cummings, 134 S.W.3d 835, 838-39 (Tex.2004).

Whether to hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion for new trial in a civil matter is within the trial court's discretion unless the ground for the motion is jury misconduct. See Hamilton v. Williams, 298 S.W.3d 334, 339 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2009, no pet.); Parham v. Wilbon, 746 S.W.2d 347, 351 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1988, no writ); see also Tex.R. Civ. P. 327 (providing that, when the ground of a motion for new trial, supported by affidavit, is misconduct of the jury, “the court shall hear evidence thereof from the jury or others in open court”).

In this case, the allegation of jury misconduct does not apply because no jury trial was held. Moreover, even if we were to adopt the standard applied by other courts of appeals-that a trial court must hold a hearing on a motion for new trial if the motion “presents a question of fact upon which evidence must be heard” and alleges facts that, if true, would entitle the movant to a new trial-Hamilton would not be entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his motion for new trial because it failed to identify any question of fact upon which additional evidence was required or to specify what evidence, if any, he would have presented to the trial court had an evidentiary hearing been held. See, e.g., Landis v. Landis, 307 S.W.3d 393, 394 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2009, no pet.) (“A trial court is only required to conduct a hearing on a motion for new trial when a motion presents a question of fact upon which evidence must be heard.”). Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by failing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on Hamilton's motion for new trial. We overrule Hamilton's first point.³

IV. Right to Attend a Hearing on a Chapter 14 Motion to Dismiss

In his third point, Hamilton argues that the trial court erred by denying his constitutional right to be heard on Pechacek's chapter 14 motion to dismiss because the court failed to consider and rule upon his motion for a bench warrant to personally appear at a hearing or, in the alternative, to participate by conference call. The trial court did not conduct an oral or evidentiary hearing but heard Pechacek's motion to dismiss by submission only.

A. Standard of Review

We review for an abuse of discretion a trial court's ruling on a request for a bench warrant or to participate at trial by other means. In re Z.L.T., 124 S.W.3d 163, 165 (Tex.2003); In re D.D.J., 136 S.W.3d 305, 311-14 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2004, no pet.). To determine whether a trial court abused its discretion, we must decide whether the trial court acted without reference to any guiding rules or principles; in other words, we must decide whether the act was arbitrary or unreasonable. Cire, 134 S.W.3d 835 at 838-39. When reviewing matters committed to the trial court's discretion, we may not substitute our own judgment for that of the trial court. Bowie Mem'l Hosp. v. Wright, 79 S.W.3d 48, 52 (Tex.2002).

B. Bench Warrant or Appearance at Hearing by Conference Call

Litigants cannot be denied access to the courts simply because they are inmates. Z.L.T., 124 S.W.3d at 165; Ringer v. Kimball, 274 S.W.3d 865, 867 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2008, no pet.). However, an inmate does not have an automatic right to appear in person in every court proceeding. Z.L.T., 124 S.W.3d at 165; D.D.J., 136 S.W.3d at 311. “The right of a prisoner to have access to the courts entails not so much his personal presence as the opportunity to present evidence or contradict the evidence of the opposing party.” D.D.J., 136 S.W.3d at 314.

In this case, the trial court heard Pechacek's motion to dismiss by submission only, implicitly denying Hamilton's request for a bench warrant or, alternatively, to appear at hearing by conference call. Section 14.003(c) of the civil practice and remedies code provides that a hearing on a chapter 14 motion to dismiss is not mandatary, stating:

In determining whether [to dismiss a suit under section 14.003], the court may hold a hearing. The hearing may be held before or after service of process, and it may be held on motion of the court, a party, or the clerk of the court.

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 14.003(c) (Vernon 2002) (emphasis added). The plain language of the statute indicates that the trial court's determination to hold a hearing on a chapter 14 motion to dismiss is discretionary. See id. Thus, an inmate bringing a claim subject to chapter 14 has no right to be heard at a hearing upon a motion to dismiss his or her claims. See

Thomas v. Wichita Gen. Hosp., 952 S.W.2d 936, 938 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1997, pet. denied) (holding that a trial court's determination whether to hold a hearing on a chapter 14 motion to dismiss is discretionary).

Based on section 14.003(c), it was within the trial court's discretion to hear Pechacek's motion to dismiss by submission only, without conducting an oral or evidentiary hearing.⁴ Hamilton had the opportunity to oppose Pechacek's motion to dismiss and did so by filing verified objections. Moreover, Hamilton does not identify any evidence or argument that he contends he would have presented at the hearing but could not. Hamilton had no need to attend a hearing to present evidence or contradict the evidence of the opposing party because no evidentiary hearing was held. See D.D.J., 136 S.W.3d at 314. Accordingly, we hold...