law-UDJA-summary-judgment | UDJA | attorney's fees under the DJA | standard of review for smmary judgment
granting or denying declaratory relief
DECLARATORY RELIEF BY SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Standard of Review
Katzen sought relief under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §
37.001-.011 (Vernon 2008). Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 166a states, in pertinent part, that a party seeking to
recover on a declaratory judgment may, at any time after the adverse party has appeared or answered, move
with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in his favor upon all or any part thereof. Tex. R. Civ.
P. 166a(a).
Declaratory judgments rendered by summary judgment are reviewed under the same standards as govern
summary judgments generally. Bowers v. Taylor, 263 S.W.3d 260, 264 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, no
pet.). We review a trial court's granting of a traditional summary judgment de novo. Provident Life & Accident Ins.
Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 215 (Tex. 2003). A summary judgment under Rule of Civil Procedure 166a(c) is
properly granted only when a movant establishes that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that he is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c); KPMG Peat Marwick v. Harrison County Hous.
Fin., 988 S.W.2d 746, 748 (Tex. 1999). A plaintiff moving for summary judgment must prove that he is entitled to
summary judgment as a matter of law on each element of his cause of action. MMP, Ltd. v. Jones, 710 S.W.2d
59, 60 (Tex. 1986); Rizkallah v. Conner, 952 S.W.2d 582, 582 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, no pet.). In
deciding whether there is a disputed material fact precluding summary judgment, evidence favorable to the
non-movant will be taken as true, every reasonable inference must be indulged in favor of the non-movant, and
any doubts resolved in its favor. Knott, 128 S.W.3d at 215. The movant must conclusively establish its right to
judgment as a matter of law. See MMP, Ltd., 710 SW.2d at 60. A matter is conclusively established if reasonable
people could not differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from the evidence. City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d
802, 816 (Tex. 2005).
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