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Haygood v. Chandler10/31/2003
f law. See Huddleston v. Pace, 790 S.W.2d 47, 52 (Tex. App.- San Antonio 1990, writ denied) (reversing award of mental anguish damages to a corporation because a corporation is not capable of emotional responses). Accordingly, the Association's second and third issues are overruled.
Review of Take-Nothing Judgment
In its fourth issue, the Association argues that the trial court erred in granting Chandler's "Motion for Take-Nothing Judgment in Disregard of Certain Jury Findings" because 1) the instructions included in the charge on awarding punitive damages were deficient, and 2) the court's answer to a question propounded by the jury after it began deliberations was improper.
Charge Instruction on Punitive Damages
The jury found that Chandler's lawsuit against the Association constituted malicious prosecution and that it was entitled to exemplary damages. However, the jury did not award the Association any actual damages; instead, it awarded the Association $10,000.00 in exemplary damages. Chandler moved for a take-nothing judgment on the basis that in the absence of actual damages, there can be no recovery for punitive damages as a matter of law. The trial court agreed and ordered that the Association take nothing from its suit.
On appeal, the Association argues that the jury instructions included in the charge were defective because it did not inform the jury that it could award punitive damages only if it awarded actual damages. Specifically, the charge instructed the jury that exemplary damages means "an amount that you may in your discretion award as an example to others and as a penalty or by way of punishment, in addition to any amount that you may have found as actual damages." The charge further instructed the jury as follows:
For purposes of punitive damages, you are instructed that the plaintiff is not entitled to punitive damages unless:
1. Viewed objectively from the standpoint of the actor, the act or omission must involved an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others, and
2. The actor must have actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceed in conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.
The charge did not condition the award of punitive damages on an award of actual damages.
A party objecting to the charge must point out distinctly the objectionable matter and the grounds for the objection. Tex. R. Civ. P. 274. Any complaint as to a question, definition, or instruction, on account of any defect, omission, or fault in pleading, is waived unless specifically included in the objections. Id.; see also Tex. R. Civ. P. 272; Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a). Any alleged error in the charge at issue was waived because the Association failed to object to the omission or request that the instruction be included in the charge and receive a ruling on any objection or request from the court. See Casteel-Diebolt v. Diebolt, 912 S.W.2d 302, 304 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.]1995, no writ) (failure to object to omissions from the charge estops a party from complaining on appeal).
Even if the Association had not waived this issue, its argument still fails. The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code governs the application of exemplary damages to a cause of action, except for causes of action pursuant to other statutes that are specifically exempted therein. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.002 (Vernon Supp. 2003). Exemplary damages may be awarded only if damages other than nominal damages are awarded. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 41.004(a). Even if on
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