Texas Supreme Court
HOUSTON - The Texas Supreme Court has granted Diamond Hydraulics a new trial in litigation stemming over a bent cylinder in a crane, effectively erasing a half-a-million dollar judgment – $380,000 of which was in attorney’s fees.
Court records show GAC Equipment (Austin Crane) hired Diamond to repair one of its cranes. Diamond rebuilt the crane’s cylinder, which later bent while lifting a bridge. Diamond blamed poor maintenance and improper operation, while Austin Crane blamed Diamond for not using suitable materials.
Austin Crane sued Diamond for breach of contract and breach of warranty, alleging a faulty hydraulic cylinder repair. The key question at trial centered on what caused the hydraulic cylinder to bend six months after Diamond’s repair.
Shortly before trial, an expert witness for Diamond changed jobs, left the state of Texas, and refused to testify. Diamond promptly moved to substitute a new expert, but the district court denied the motion and made the company try its case without any expert testimony.
“That was an abuse of discretion,” states the high court’s opinion. “Good cause is a demanding standard, not an impossible one.”
Following the trial, a jury found that Diamond committed breach of contract and breach warranty and that the company was liable.
The jury further found that Austin Crane suffered actual damages in the amount of $79,445.77 as a result of Diamond’s breach of contract and breach of warranty. The trial court awarded Austin Crane $381,959.75 in attorney fees and also awarded $71,820.00 in conditional attorney fees if the case were to be appealed.
Diamond did appeal and the court appeals affirmed, court records show.
“The district court abused its discretion in finding that Diamond lacked good cause for its late expert designation,” the opinion states. “The judgment of the court of appeals is therefore reversed, and the case is remanded for a new trial.”
Supreme Court case No. 24-1049
