Superior Seeds, Inc. v. Crain

Darrell Hickman, Justice.

In 1979 the appellant, Superior Seeds, Inc., sued one of its suppliers, a local farmer, for $16,831.51 that it claimed the farmer wrongfully kept or converted, and for $5,500 in punitive damages.

At a pretrial conference of this case on September 7, 1982, the trial judge told the appellant’s attorney that he would hold another conference a week later in another city because the lawyers were not properly prepared for trial. He specifically told the appellant’s attorney to prepare instructions. When the second pretrial conference was held, the appellant’s attorney still…