Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Heather Godwin rented a home from Yolanda Brammer on a month-to-month basis beginning in June 2022. After Godwin stopped paying rent in the summer of 2024, Brammer served her with a notice to vacate and filed an eviction action in justice court.
Godwin, a Texas attorney representing herself, then sued Brammer for damages and sought a temporary restraining order against the eviction. She alleged that Brammer participated in a decades-long venture trafficking nude video of her and benefited through increased business for Brammer’s towing company, in violation of Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 98.002(a). Godwin also asserted negligence, alleging that Brammer refused to repair a patio-door security vulnerability despite knowing that the alleged venture sought access to Godwin’s residence. The district court granted Brammer’s Rule 91a motion to dismiss and Rule 13 motion for sanctions; Godwin appealed only the Rule 91a dismissal.
The Court’s Holding
The Third Court of Appeals affirmed. Reviewing the Rule 91a dismissal de novo, the court explained that a cause of action has no basis in fact when no reasonable person could believe the pleaded facts. Although allegations and reasonable inferences generally are taken as true, Rule 91a requires factual plausibility.
Considering Godwin’s allegations against Brammer in the context of her complete live petition, the court held that they did not satisfy that standard. The petition portrayed Brammer as one participant among numerous landlords, relatives, lawyers, musicians, police officers, and others allegedly involved in a three-decade enterprise surveilling and trafficking video of Godwin. Because no reasonable person could believe the allegations against Brammer, the trafficking and negligence claims were properly dismissed as having no basis in fact.
Key Takeaways
- Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a permits dismissal when no reasonable person could believe the facts pleaded.
- A court assessing factual plausibility may consider challenged allegations in the context of the complete factual account in the plaintiff’s live petition.
- The appellate court affirmed dismissal of both the statutory trafficking and negligence theories without reviewing the separately granted Rule 13 sanctions.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates that Texas courts applying Rule 91a need not accept allegations merely because they are formally pleaded as facts. Even at the pleading stage, the allegations must meet the rule’s factual-plausibility threshold when read in context.
For practitioners, the opinion also underscores the importance of distinguishing between a claim that lacks a legal element and one whose supporting factual narrative is so implausible that Rule 91a permits dismissal for having no basis in fact.