summary judgment or appeal?

[cherylholmes]

hi, i filed an action in scc and won my case except was denied punitive/compensatory damages because i feel the judge erred in applying the case law. the caselaw states how one determines the value of a dog that was killed. all of the cases tell how the dog was killed too. the judge based his denial on how a dog was killed whether punitive/compensatory damages are allowed instead of the higher court ruling in the caseswhich deals with the dertermination of value. my case is being heard in texas. what do i do when i feel the judge has erred in his decision, interpretation of caselaw. he is a jp. would a "motion for summary judgment" be in order and who would i file this with please? or should i just appeal the punitive/compensatory damages part of my suit. finding of fact was accurate but application of case is not. i studied law in college but not enough to know these things...thanks so much for you help..sincerely cheryl holmes i have 2 days left to file an appeal to the same judge and 1 week to file with a higher court. just received his decision in the mail today. thanks for any and all help in advance..

 

[JETX]

Texas allows either party in a Small Claims action to appeal. So, if you are still within the allowed time, you can appeal to the County Court at Law. This is a 'higher' court of record and would warrant considerating having professional representation.

 

[cherylholmes]

thanks sooooo very much for your response. i was a bit rattled when i first posted but after many phone calls and several hours to mull everything over..i have decided to appeal the punitive damages part of the lawsuit to the higher court which is as you said the county court. i will ask the judge to make a determination based on texas caselaw and i will do all the briefs on the cases including the one that set precendence on recovery of punitive damages in cases like mine. the the commission for judiciary conduct says i can just appeal that particular part of the suit w/o retrying the entire case. the facts of the case are not in dispute, only whether punitive damages will be allowed as per texas case law. does this sound ok to you? been a very long time since i was in college so i really have to pull all this stuff out of my mind from way back. had been a poly sci and pre law major in college. please let me know what yu think..thanks again for your help! sincerely cheryl