Case Number: 08-99-00388-CV 08/21/2001 Mandate issued 08/21/2001 Case stored in record room 06/28/2001 Court approved judgment sent to attys of record 06/28/2001 Opinion issued judgment of ca is reversed. 06/28/2001 Opinion issued judgment of ca is reversed. 04/18/2001 Created for Data Conversion -- an event inserted to correspond to the submitted date of a process 04/18/2001 Created for Data Conversion -- an event inserted to correspond to the submission date of a process 04/18/2001 Oral argument 03/01/2001 Amount of time allotted for oral argument. 03/01/2001 Set for Submission 03/01/2001 Petition for Review disposed Granted 03/01/2001 Petition for Review disposed Granted 12/15/2000 Waiver notice for brief on the merits 12/14/2000 Brief filed. 11/17/2000 Record Received (See Remarks) 11/09/2000 Brief on the Merits Requested 11/09/2000 Record Requested in Petition for Review 10/26/2000 Response to Petition for Review filed 09/26/2000 Supreme Court of Texas Requested Response; mailbox rule does not apply 09/19/2000 Case forwarded to Court 08/17/2000 Appendix Filed 08/17/2000 Petition for Review filed OPINION
Appellant, Furr's Supermarkets, Inc., was sued by Appellee, Marthana Bethune, after she was assaulted and her purse stolen in a Furr's parking lot. The sixty-year-old woman alleged that Furr's was negligent in failing to provide adequate security; however, a trial resulted in jury findings that Furr's was not negligent. Furr's brings one issue contending that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to award Furr's taxable court costs under Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 131. Rule 131 states, "[t]he successful party to a suit shall recover of his adversary all costs incurred therein, except where otherwise provided." Tex.R.Civ.P. 131. Rule 141 states, "[t]he court may, for good cause, to be stated on the record, adjudge the costs otherwise than as provided by law or these rules." Tex.R.Civ.P. 141. This Court, and others, have held that Rule 141 requires the trial court to state the grounds or explain the rationale for disregarding the equitable rationale of Rule 131. See, Guerra v.Perez Associates, 885 S.W.2d 531, 533 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1994, no writ). Yet, it is clear that "good cause" is a very elusive concept which must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Rogersv. Walmart Stores, Inc., 686 S.W.2d 599, 601 (Tex. 1985). The allocation of costs is a matter for the trial court's discretion and cannot be overturned on appeal unless the trial court abused its discretion. See id.; see also, Operation Rescue-National v.Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, Inc.,937 S.W.2d 60, 86 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1996), aff'd, asmodified, 975 S.W.2d 546 (Tex. 1998).
At the hearing on the motion to assess costs, the trial judge was reminded by Bethune's counsel that a third party summoned two police officers to the hearing due to the belief that Bethune would do harm to herself or might be suicidal. Counsel also noted that since Bethune's only income is derived from social security disability, Bethune believed it was not garnishable and thus nothing would be served by Furr's pursuing post-judgment collection efforts against her.1 The trial court was also reminded of the evidence introduced during trial through Dr. Schuster of Bethune's fragile emotional state. In addition, the following exchange occurred:
The Court: If I remember correctly, a while ago, we had an outburst from Ms. Bethune.
Ms. Bethune: I'm sorry I'm so upset.
The Court: I think she said something about suicide, didn't she?
Mr. Richard: She did, Your Honor.
The Court: I'm not going to be the one to precipitate any further emotional problems for her. I'm going to let each party bear their own costs.
We hold that the trial court complied with Rule 141. He was entitled to consider several factors in the record, he adequately stated his reasoning, and his finding of good cause was not an abuse of discretion. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.