AFFIRM; and Opinion Filed April 10, 2015.
S In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-14-00431-CV
HOSSAIN BAGHVARDANI, Appellant
V.
CARMEN WILSON, Appellee
On Appeal from the 160th Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-13-06562
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Francis, Lang-Miers, and Whitehill
Opinion by Justice Lang-Miers
Appellant Hossain Baghvardani appeals from a summary judgment granted in favor of
appellee Carmen Wilson. We affirm the trial court’s summary judgment.
Baghvardani filed a pro se personal injury suit against Wilson on June 13, 2013, for
injuries he claims to have sustained in a traffic accident that occurred on June 15, 2011. Wilson
was served with process on December 15, 2013, and filed an answer on January 3, 2014. A few
weeks later Wilson moved for summary judgment on the ground that Baghvardani’s claims were
barred by the two-year statute of limitations for negligence claims because Wilson was not
served with process until six months after limitations expired, and Baghvardani failed to exercise
due diligence in obtaining issuance and service of citation. Baghvardani did not file a response
to Wilson’s motion. After a hearing, the trial court granted Wilson’s motion and dismissed
Baghvardani’s claims.
On appeal Baghvardani argues that summary judgment was improper because he was
diligent in attempting to serve Wilson, but was unable to serve her sooner because she was out of
the country. To support his argument Baghvardani relies solely on the following statement he
made to the trial court at the summary-judgment hearing, shown in context:
THE COURT: [Wilson’s] motion was filed on January the 31st, 2014. Mr.
Baghvardani, did you ever file a response to that motion?
MR. BAGHVARDANI: I come here, I talk to Your Honor, and I had a letter that
said 28 of October,[ 1] and after that I tried to find Ms. Wilson, but I couldn’t find
her. I sent two more people and they couldn’t find her. And, finally, December
15th, when I find her, she said her mother, she passed away, and she went to
Mexico, and she arrived same day when I saw her.
(Emphasis added.)
We notified Baghvardani that his initial appellant’s brief was defective in several
respects, and that failure to file a brief that complied with the rules of appellate procedure could
result in dismissal. Baghvardani filed an amended brief, but the amended brief is also deficient
in several respects, including because Baghvardani does not cite any relevant authority. See
TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(i) (brief must contain “appropriate citations to authorities”); see also Bolling
v. Farmers Branch Indep. Sch. Dist., 315 S.W.3d 893, 896 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, no pet.)
(“[E]xisting legal authority applicable to the facts and the questions we are called on to answer
must be accurately cited.”). “If we are not provided with existing legal authority that can be
applied to the facts of the case, the brief fails.” Bolling, 315 S.W.3d at 896.
Moreover, to support his argument, Baghvardani relies upon the statement quoted above,
which he made to the trial court during the hearing on Wilson’s motion for summary judgment.
That statement, however, is not competent summary-judgment evidence, and we are precluded
from considering it on appeal. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 166(a)(c) (oral testimony is not permitted at
1
The record contains a notice of intent to dismiss stating that the case was set for dismissal hearing by submission on Monday, October 28,
2013.
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summary-judgment hearings, and “[i]ssues not expressly presented to the trial court by written
motion, answer or other response shall not be considered on appeal as grounds for reversal”).
Because appellant’s brief does not comply with the rules of appellate procedure, and
because we are precluded from considering the only statement he relies upon, we affirm the trial
court’s summary judgment. See Crouch v. Continental Cas. Co., No. 05-06-00605-CV, 2007
WL 2028761, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 16, 2007, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (affirming
judgment after concluding appellant waived all issues for inadequate briefing).
/Elizabeth Lang-Miers/
ELIZABETH LANG-MIERS
JUSTICE
140431F.P05
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S
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
HOSSAIN BAGHVARDANI, Appellant On Appeal from the 160th Judicial District
Court, Dallas County, Texas
No. 05-14-00431-CV V. Trial Court Cause No. DC-13-06562.
Opinion delivered by Justice Lang-Miers.
CARMEN WILSON, Appellee Justices Francis and Whitehill participating.
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the judgment of the trial court is
AFFIRMED.
It is ORDERED that appellee Carmen Wilson recover her costs of this appeal from
appellant Hossain Baghvardani.
Judgment entered this 10th day of April, 2015.
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