Frazier v. Yu

In Frazier v. Yu, 987 S.W.2d 607 (Tex. App.--Fort Worth 1999, pet. denied), the parties were involved in an automobile accident. Frazier filed suit against Yu; Yu filed a no-evidence motion for summary judgment. Frazier, 987 S.W.2d at 608. Prior to a scheduled hearing on the motion for summary judgment, Frazier filed two affidavits. Id. Yu moved to strike the affidavits. The trial court granted Yu's motion for summary judgment and noted on its docket sheet that Frazier did not submit any summary judgment evidence. Id. The court of appeals affirmed the judgment, seizing upon the fact that the trial court specifically stated that it had reviewed "all competent summary judgment evidence." Id. The acknowledgment that it had reviewed only the competent summary judgment evidence led to an inference that the trial court "implicitly sustained Yu's objections." Id. In Frazier v. Yu, a trial court had granted defendant's motion to strike plaintiff's summary judgment affidavit from evidence, entered summary judgment for defendant, noted on its docket sheet that plaintiff had not submitted any summary judgment evidence, and stated in its order that it had reviewed all competent evidence. Frazier, 987 S.W.2d at 609-10. After observing that "error is preserved as long as the record indicates in some way that the trial court ruled on the objection either expressly or implicitly," the Frazier Court determined that the record and circumstances in that case created an inference that the trial court implicitly sustained the defendant's objections to plaintiff's evidence. Id. at 610. The Court did not consider the evidence because plaintiff did not complain of the trial court's implicit ruling on appeal. Id.