Equitable General Insurance Co. of Texas v. Yates
Thomas Yates was initially awarded workers' compensation for injuries while employed by Schepps Dairy. Equitable General Insurance Company of Texas, the carrier, obtained a summary judgment against Yates on grounds of untimely claim filing. Yates' subsequent motion for a new trial was conditionally granted upon payment of $500 in attorney's fees to opposing counsel. After Yates filed an uncontested affidavit of inability to pay, the trial court denied the motion for new trial. The court of appeals reversed, and this court affirmed the court of appeals' judgment, ruling that while conditional grants of new trial are generally permissible, the trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion in the face of an uncontested affidavit of inability to pay the imposed monetary condition.