Case Alert: Pioneer Emerald Pointe, LLC v. Termenian Contractors, LLC

Case: Pioneer Emerald Pointe, LLC v. Texmenian Contractors, LLC, No. 05-22-00493-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4094 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 13, 2023, no pet. h.).

Overview: The Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court’s judgment for Red Carpet finding Pioneer breached its contract with Red Carpet and was liable on a sworn account and quantum meruit.

Key Reminders & Implications:

• The quality of your invoices can make or break a breach of contract or suit on sworn account claim. Remember to review the work/services while it's being performed when verifying your invoices.
• The best invoices include a detailed service date, work description, amount due, and clear payment terms.
• Don't delay in speaking with an attorney if you have invoices outstanding or lingering. Don't let customers drag out payment terms. The earlier you get moving with an attorney, the more likely you are to get paid.

Background: This dispute arose after Texmenian Contractors d/b/a Red Carpet Cleaning performed certain services including but not limited to painting, tape, bed and texture repairs, carpet cleaning, and housekeeping at an apartment complex owned by Pioneer Emerald. Merge Property Management managed the property for Pioneer Emerald.

The issues stem from forty-six outstanding invoices, totaling $30,781.82, for services provided by Red Carpet. Red Carpet sent the invoices to Merge Property for services provided from May 9, 2017, to August 1, 2017. Red Carpet sent a final notice for payment on September 8, 2017. If payment was not received by October 5, Red Carpet will proceed with collection efforts.

Merge Properties disputed the invoices, attaching a spreadsheet showing the disputed amounts. A check was delivered for a new amount that included a “paid in full” note to Red Carpet for $17,814.47.

Pioneer argues that the Trial Court erred when relying on insufficient evidence to establish a sworn account claim.

For a suit on a sworn account, an open account in which a systemic record has been kept can constitute prima facie evidence of the claim. But a defendant’s verified denial of the correctness of a plaintiff’s sworn account forces the plaintiff to put on proof of its claim.

Pioneer filed a verified denial of the correctness of Red Carpet’s sworn account. Because Pioneer filed a verified denial, Red Carpet had to establish the following elements for sworn account to recover:

1.?????A sale and delivery of merchandise or performance of services

2.?????The amount or prices were either charged in accordance with an agreement or were customary and reasonable and

3.?????The amount was unpaid

Red Carpet’s evidence included testimony of Red Carpet’s executives, the disputed invoices, and other documents.

Pioneer argues that the testimony from the president and vice president is insufficient because they did not have personal knowledge that each disputed service was delivered, or delivered in the manner charged or that they were completed or performed properly. The invoices set out the service date, the apartment unit, a description of the work completed, the initials of the contractor who performed the work, and the amount due.

The Court of Appeals disagreed and held the evidence showed the opposite. The contractors were dispatched to perform the work. The contractors kept notes of their work, and those notes were incorporated into the invoices.

Invoices are business records, and the Court of Appeals agreed that they substitute for the personal knowledge of a testifying witness and serve as some evidence that the transactions they reflect took place.

Based on all the evidence the Court of Appeals held that the evidence shows Red Carpet fully performed the services described in the forty-six invoices and billed Pioneer only for the services that it performed. This evidence is sufficient to show the services were provided by Red Carpet.?The Trial Court’s decision is affirmed, Red Carpet was entitled to recover the unpaid amounts of $30,781.82, under the account.?

If you or your company finds yourself in the position of needing help resolving unpaid invoices, the Doré Rothberg Law Team is ready to help. Don't hesitate to contact Brent Dore , Lisa Rothberg , or Carl Dore .

Special thanks to our law clerk Cristina Ordonez, Esq. from South Texas College of Law Houston for her assistance in putting this case alert together.