Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Butler

REVERSE and REMAND OPINION Justice O'Neill This is a ""death penalty"" sanctions case. Appellant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. appeals a judgment granted in favor of appellee Earnestine Butler after the trial court struck its answer. In a single issue, Wal-Mart asserts the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the death penalty sanction. For the following reasons, we reverse the trial court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Butler sued Wal-Mart for personal injuries she sustained after a ""slip and fall"" at one of its stores. Wal-Mart answered with a general denial and pleaded affirmative defenses. On April 13, 1999, the trial court signed a form mediation order appointing a mediator and requiring the parties to participate in mediation. The order required the mediator to set a date for mediation if the parties could not agree on a date within twenty days of the date of the order. Mediation was to be conducted no later than August 1, 1999. The order cautioned that failure to attend mediation could result in sanctions, including dismissal or a default judgment. The parties were to file any objections to the mediation order within ten days of the date of the order.