Fernea v. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner Smith Inc.

Appellant David Fernea sued appellee Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. asserting various causes of action arising from its alleged failure to adequately supervise its employee, Terry Christopher Bounds, in the sale of a portion of his outside businesses to Fernea. Merrill Lynch moved for summary judgment, attaching affidavits to its motion as evidence. Fernea objected to the affidavits on several grounds. The trial court overruled Fernea's objections and granted summary judgment in favor of Merrill Lynch. In 11 issues, Fernea asserts that the trial court erred in overruling his objections to Merrill Lynch's summary judgment affidavits and in granting summary judgment for Merrill Lynch on each of his claims. In his fifth issue, Fernea argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Merrill Lynch on his claim that Merrill Lynch was liable as a control person of Bounds under Texas Securities Act Article 33F, �1. Because the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for Merrill Lynch on Fernea's control-person claim, the court's judgment as to that claim is reversed and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. The remainder of the trial court's judgment in favor of Merrill Lynch is affirmed. Austin Court of Appeals, No. 03-09-00566-CV, 01-07-2011