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Affirmed and Plurality Memorandum = Opinion filed=20 November 15, 2007.

 

 

In The

 

Fourteenth=20 Court of Appeals

_______________

 

NO. 14-06-00971-CV

_______________

 

JEANENNE LOEWE, INDIVIDUALLY, = and

D/B/A/ THE ELITE SALON OF 1960,=20 Appellant

 

V.

 

TRAMMELL CROW = COMPANY=20 and

TRAMMELL CROW HOUSTON, LTD.,=20 Appellees

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On Appeal from the 334th District=20 Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No.=20 2005-46499-A

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P L U R A L I T Y  M E M O R A N D = U=20 M   O P I N I O N

 

In this lease = dispute, Jeanenne=20 Loewe, individually, and d/b/a The Elite Salon of 1960 appeals a=20 take-nothing summary judgment granted in favor of Trammell Crow = Company=20 and Trammell Crow Houston, Ltd. (collectively, ATrammell = Crow@) on numerous = grounds.  We=20 affirm.

 

           &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;            = ;      =20 Background

Trammell Crow was the = leasing=20 agent for the Commons at Willowbrook shopping center (the = Ashopping = center@) that was owned by = Commons at=20 Willowbrook, Inc. (AWillowbrook@).  In 1999, = Loewe=20 contacted Matthew Keener, a real estate agent with Trammell Crow, = to=20 inquire about leasing a space in the shopping center in which to = open a=20 hair salon.  After discussions with Keener, Loewe executed a = lease=20 (the Alease@) in March of 2000.[1] =20 After encountering financial difficulties, Loewe closed her hair = salon and=20 vacated the premises in December of 2004.

As relevant to this = appeal,=20 Loewe filed suit against Trammell Crow in 2005, asserting claims = for=20 statutory and common law fraud and violations of the Real Estate = Licensing=20 Act[2] = (ARELA@) and the Deceptive = Trade=20 Practices Act[3] = (ADTPA@); and seeking = rescission of=20 the lease on the ground that it was void as illegal and against = public=20 policy.[4] =20 Trammell Crow filed a motion for summary judgment (the = Amotion@) that asserted = no-evidence as=20 to each element of these claims as well as various traditional = summary=20 judgment grounds.  The trial court granted Trammell = Crow=3Ds motion without = specifying the=20 basis on which it was granted.

           &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;           =20 Standard of Review

A traditional summary = judgment=20 must be granted if the motion and summary judgment evidence show = that,=20 except as to the amount of damages, there is no genuine issue of = material=20 fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of=20 law.  Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c).  A no‑evidence = motion for summary=20 judgment must be granted if: (1) the moving party asserts that = there is no=20 evidence of one or more specified elements of a claim or defense = on which=20 the adverse party would have the burden of proof at trial; and (2) = the=20 respondent produces no summary judgment evidence raising a genuine = issue=20 of material fact on those elements. See Tex. R. Civ. P.=20 166a(i).

In reviewing a = traditional=20 summary judgment, we examine the entire record in the light most = favorable=20 to the nonmovant, indulging every reasonable inference and = resolving any=20 doubts against the motion.  Yancy v. United Surgical = Partners=20 Int=3Dl, = Inc., __ S.W.3d __, __=20 (2007).  In reviewing a no‑evidence summary judgment, = we apply the=20 same standard, but consider only the evidence contrary to the=20 motion.  See City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, = 825=20 (Tex.2005).  When, as here, a summary judgment does not = specify the=20 grounds on which it was granted, we will affirm the judgment if = any of the=20 theories advanced in the motion and preserved for appellate review = is=20 meritorious.  Browning v. Prostok, 165 S.W.3d 336, 344 = (Tex.=20 2005).

In this case, because = the=20 summary judgment motions and responses were numerous, lengthy, and = convoluted, and because many of the issues in the briefs do not = bear on=20 what is dispositive of the appeal, we will confine our discussion = to the=20 dispositive issues.[5]

           &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;       =20 Basis of Loewe=3Ds=20 Claims

Loewe=3Ds claims are all = based on her=20 allegations that: (1) from 1999 until sometime after she vacated = the=20 leased space in 2004, Loewe had believed that Keener was = representing her=20 interests in their discussions concerning her lease; (2) the RELA = required=20 Keener to disclose to Loewe that he represented the landlord, = Willowbrook,=20 in the transaction,[6] = but=20 Keener did not disclose to Loewe that he represented Willowbrook = or that=20 he did not represent Loewe; (3) the RELA required Keener to = provide Loewe=20 a further written notice of general information about real estate = agency=20 relationships (an Aagency disclosure=20 notice@), but Loewe was = never provided=20 any such written notice;[7] = (4)=20 Trammell Crow was not licensed to conduct real estate transactions = in=20 Texas; (5) by acting as a real estate broker without a license, = failing to=20 disclose the agency relationship, and failing to provide the = agency=20 disclosure notice, all in violation of the RELA, Keener and = Trammell Crow=20 concealed a material fact, violated the DTPA, and caused the lease = to be=20 void as illegal and against public policy; (6) Loewe would not = have=20 continued the discussions with Keener or entered into the lease = without=20 her own agent if she had known that Keener was representing only = the=20 interests of the landlord; and (7) the unfavorable lease terms = that Loewe=20 agreed to because her interests had not been represented by an = agent=20 caused the failure of Loewe=3Ds hair salon business = and,=20 thus, the loss of the funds that Loewe had expended in the = venture,=20 including the cost of the leasehold improvements.

           &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p; =20 License and Rescission Claims

In support of her = claim that=20 Trammell Crow was not licensed as a real estate agent, Loewe = relies on=20 pages printed from the Texas Real Estate Commission=3Ds website that were = attached to=20 her summary judgment response, objected to by Trammell Crow as = hearsay,=20 and  stricken by the trial court.  Loewe=3Ds brief incorrectly = refers to=20 these exhibits as Aletters from the TREC = regarding=20 the failure of Appellees to have licenses@ and does not address = the=20 merits of Trammell Crow=3Ds hearsay objection = at=20 all.  In addition, these pages do not affirmatively show that = Trammell Crow was not licensed but only that the website search on = the=20 names entered did not find a licensee.

Moreover, = Loewe=3Ds contention that = Trammell Crow=20 was unlicensed pertains only to her claim that the lease was a = void=20 agreement that was subject to rescission.  However, because = Trammell=20 Crow was not a party to the lease, it is not apparent how the = license=20 issue and the claim for rescission of the lease could be material = to any=20 theory of recovery by Loewe against Trammell Crow.  = Therefore, we=20 overrule Loewe=3Ds third, fourth, and = seventh=20 issues to the extent they challenge the trial court=3Ds striking of the = exhibits=20 containing the website printout and the summary judgment entered = against=20 Loewe=3Ds claims for=20 rescission.

           &= nbsp;           &n= bsp;           &nb= sp;           &nbs= p;       =20 Fraud and DTPA Claims

Trammell = Crow=3Ds motion for summary = judgment=20 asserted, as relevant to our disposition, that: (1) =20 Loewe=3Ds DTPA claim was = barred by the=20 exemption for professional service; and (2) on Loewe=3Ds statutory and = common law=20 fraud claims, there was no evidence that Trammell Crow made a = false=20 representation to Loewe for the purpose of inducing her to enter = into a=20 real estate contract.

The DTPA does not = apply to a=20 claim for damages based on the rendering of professional service, = the=20 essence of which is the providing of advice, judgment, opinion, or = similar=20 professional skill.[8] =20 See Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. ' 17.49(c).  = However, this=20 exemption does not apply to: (1) an express misrepresentation of = fact that=20 cannot be characterized as advice, judgment, or opinion; or (2) a = failure=20 to disclose information concerning goods or services, which was = known at=20 the time of the transaction, if such failure to disclose was = intended to=20 induce the consumer into a transaction the consumer would not have = entered=20 into had the information been disclosed.  Id. = '' 17.49(c),=20 17.46(b)(24).

In responding to = Trammell=20 Crow=3Ds summary judgment = contention=20 asserting the professional service exemption, Loewe=3Ds summary judgment = response did=20 not contend that Trammell Crow had made an affirmative = misrepresentation,=20 but only that it had concealed unspecified material facts.  = However,=20 this portion of Loewe=3Ds response did not = contend, or=20 identify evidence showing, that any fact had been concealed for = the=20 purpose of inducing Loewe to enter into a=20 transaction.

Similarly, = Loewe=3Ds claims for = statutory and=20 common law fraud each required evidence that Trammell Crow made a = false=20 statement with an intent to induce Loewe to act upon it.  = See=20 Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. ' 27.01(a)(1)(A) = (Vernon 2002);=20 Johnson v. Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., 73 S.W.3d 193, 211 = (Tex.=20 2002).  Again, however, Loewe=3Ds brief has cited, = and we have=20 found, no portion of any of her summary judgment responses where = she=20 contended, or identified any evidence that, Trammell Crow made any = false=20 statement or concealed any material fact with an intent to induce = Loewe to=20 act upon it.[9] =20 Therefore, we overrule Loewe=3Ds challenges to the = summary=20 judgment entered against her claims for fraud and DTPA = violations. =20 Because Loewe=3Ds remaining = challenges do not=20 bear on our grounds for affirming the trial court=3Ds judgment, we do not = address=20 them.  The judgment of the trial court is = affirmed.

 

 

/s/       =20 Richard H.=20 = Edelman           =   =20

Senior Justice

 

Judgment rendered and = Plurality=20 Memorandum Opinion filed November 15, 2007.

Panel consists of = Justices=20 Yates, Seymore, and Edelman. (Yates, J., and Seymore, J., = concurring=20 without an opinion.)*


[1]          =20 Thereafter, Loewe executed three lease amendments, effective in = June of=20 2000, October of 2001, and October of 2003, = respectively.

[2]          =20 See Tex. Occ. Code Ann. '' 1101.001-.806 (Vernon 2004 & Supp.=20 2007).  Although the RELA has been recodified since the = operative=20 facts of this case occurred, we will cite to the current version = of=20 statutes where differences from the preceding versions are not = material to=20 our disposition.

[3]          =20 See Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. '' 17.01-.854 (Vernon 2002 & Supp.=20 2007).

[4]          =20 Loewe has not assigned error to the take-nothing summary judgment = entered=20 against her claims for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, = negligence=20 per se, tortious interference, declaratory judgment, or breach of=20 fiduciary duty.

[5]          =20 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.1 (requiring a court of appeals = opinion to=20 be as brief as practicable but to address every issue raised that = is=20 necessary to the final disposition).

[6]          =20 See Tex. Occ. Code Ann. ' 1101.558(b)(1).

[7]          =20 See id. ' 1101.558(c), (d).  Although not = material to=20 our disposition, this written disclosure merely provides general=20 information concerning agency relationships in real estate = transactions,=20 but provides no information about the agency relationship in any=20 particular transaction.

[8]          =20 Loewe does not contest that the services she allegedly sought from = Trammell Crow were professional for this purpose.

[9]          =20 Although Loewe=3Ds affidavit, attached to her summary = judgment=20 response, states that Keener told her that the price and other = terms of=20 her lease were the best that could be obtained in the area and = similar to=20 what other shopping centers in the area were charging, her summary = judgment responses did not reference this statement in her=20 affidavit.  Instead, the responses relied upon the alleged=20 non-disclosures concerning the agency relationship and the alleged = lack of=20 licensing to support the claims for fraud and DTPA=20 violations.

*          =20 Senior Justice Richard H. Edelman sitting by=20 = assignment.

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