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Crockett v. Bell8/3/1995
Affirmed in Part, and Reversed and Rendered in Part and Opinion filed.
August 3, 1995.
O P I N I O N
In this appeal by the plaintiff, Donald Crockett, and his wife, from a judgement notwithstanding the verdict, we consider whether any evidence supports the jury's finding of mutual mistake, which would set aside a release the plaintiff signed in a personal injury suit. Because there is no evidence in the record supporting the elements necessary to set aside a release on the basis of mutual mistake, we affirm the judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to Donald Crockett. However, because Donald Crockett's wife, Pamela, did not sign the release, we reverse the judgement as to her and render judgement in her favor.
FACTS and PRIOR POSTURE
On March 10, 1989, Donald Crockett and Tammy Renee Bell were involved in a car accident. Crockett sustained head lacerations when his car struck Bell's car after she turned left into oncoming traffic. Three months after the accident, on June 29, 1989, Crockett received a $5000 payment from Bell's insurance company and signed a release. The release provided:
For the Sole Consideration of FIVE THOUSAND & NO/100 Dollars, the receipt and sufficiency whereof is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned hereby releases and forever discharges WILLIAM BELL & TAMMY BELL, their heirs, executors, administrators, agents and assigns, and all other persons, firms and corporations liable or, who might be claimed to be liable, none of whom admit any liability to the undersigned but all expressly deny any liability, from any and all claims, demands, damages actions, causes of action or suits of any kind or nature whatsoever, and particularly on account of all injuries, known and unknown, both to person and property, which have resulted or may in the future develop from an accident which occurred on or about the 10 day of March, 1989 at or near Mont Belvieu, TX [emphasis added].
On August 5, 1990, a little more than a year after he signed the release, Crockett had a generalized atonic clonic seizure (formerly called a "grand mal" seizure). He went to the hospital, and saw a neurologist who diagnosed him as having a seizure disorder called complex partial seizures, which the neurologist concluded was caused by the accident. The neurologist prescribed medication, the only way to control the seizures. Although Crockett was not aware he had a problem until he had the generalized atonic clonic seizure, it appears he probably had been having minor seizures before the generalized atonic clonic seizure. Complex partial seizures are manifested by short-term memory loss, momentary losses of consciousness, and severe headaches. Because of his seizures and the medication he was taking, Crockett lost his job as a heavy equipment operator. He was unemployed for two years, until he completed retraining as a barber. After Crockett was diagnosed with the seizure disorder, he and his wife Pamela filed suit against Bell for lost wages, mental anguish, past and future medical expenses, and loss of consortium. The case was tried to a jury, which found Bell 75% negligent and Crockett 25% negligent, awarded Donald Crockett $90,000, and awarded Pamela Crockett $50,000 for loss of household services and loss of consortium. The jury also found that the release signed by Crockett was the result of a mutual mistake.
Bell filed a Motion for Judgment, asking the court to enter judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The trial court granted the motion and entered judgement for Bell, concluding that "the jury's finding of `mutual mistake' must be disregarded as unsupported by evidence of a mistake on the part of [Bell] in t
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