Samuel P. Marynick and Sharon Kay Marynick v. Brenda Lewellen Bockelmann

Samuel P. Marynick and Sharon Kay Marynick, landlords, sued Brenda Lewellen Bockelmann and her former husband Hermann O.W. Bockelmann, tenants, for past due rent, for repairs necessitated by the tenants failure to maintain the premises, and for unpaid loan payments on a loan from Samuel Marynick to Hermann Bockelmann. The trial court entered judgment for the Marynicks against Hermann Bockelmann but ordered that the Marynicks take nothing against Brenda Bockelmann. The Marynicks appeal from the take-nothing judgment in favor of Brenda. In two points of error, the Marynicks contend that the trial court erred in entering the take-nothing judgment because Brenda, as a signatory on the lease, was liable for unpaid rent for the holdover terms when her husband remained in possession of the premises beyond the initial lease term. The Marynicks also argue that Brenda was liable under the loan agreement signed by her husband because, under the Texas Family Code, one spouse is obligated by a contract signed by the other spouse. We conclude that Brenda is not liable under the loan contract Hermann signed. However, we agree that Brenda is liable under the lease for unpaid rent accrued during the holdover terms of the lease and for stipulated damages for failing to maintain the premises. Accordingly, we reverse the trial courts take-nothing judgment, render judgment in the amount of the unpaid rent and stipulated damages, and remand for determination of the amount of attorneys fees.