HOUSTON – The First Court of Appeals recently affirmed a summary judgment win favor of Sonic Momentum JVP, better known as Land Rover of Southwest Houston.
In 2018, Angelia Hill filed suit against Momentum, alleging breach of contract, breach of warranty and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Hill alleges that she bought a 2014 Range Rover Evoque from Momentum with an extended service warranty of 100,000 miles. Two years later, she began experiencing issues with the vehicle, which Momentum allegedly refused to repair.
Court records show that in February 2020 Momentum filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that there is no evidence the company failed to honor the warranty on Hill’s vehicle.
Momentum attached to its summary-judgment motion excerpts from Hill’s deposition, in which she acknowledged that she had driven her car 18,000 miles without an oil change or a visit to the service department, and she agreed that it was not Momentum’s fault that she failed to change her oil during that period.
The trial court, without specifying the grounds, granted Momentum summary judgment on Hill’s claims and ordered that Hill take nothing, court records show.
On appeal, Hill argued that the trial court erred in granting Momentum summary judgment on her breach-of-contract and breach-of-warranty claims because “genuine issues of material fact exist that preclude” summary judgment.
Hill also argued that the trial court erred in granting Momentum summary judgment on her DTPA claim because it was not specifically challenged in Momentum’s summary-judgment motion.
On Aug. 10, the First Court held that the trial court properly granted Momentum’s no-evidence summary judgment motion.
“Because Hill did not respond to Momentum’s no-evidence summary-judgment motion with expert testimony establishing the applicable standard of care, its breach, and a causal link between the breach and Hill’s injuries, we hold that the trial court properly granted Momentum’s no-evidence summary-judgment motion on her of breach-of-contract and breach-of-warranty claims,” the opinion states.
“For the same reason, we also hold that the trial court’s error in granting Momentum summary judgment on Hill’s DTPA claim is harmless.”
Appeal case No. 01-20-00367-CV