the City of Houston v. Steve Willams

Motion Granted and Abatement Order filed March 26, 2013. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________ NO. 14-13-00121-CV ____________ THE CITY OF HOUSTON, Appellant V. STEVE WILLAMS, ET AL, Appellees On Appeal from the 80th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2002-22690A ABATEMENT ORDER This is an appeal from a final summary judgment signed November 16, 2012. On March 12, 2013, appellant filed a motion to stay the appeal pending a decision by the Texas Supreme Court in a related case, City of Houston v. Bates, No. 11-0778, which was argued before the high court on January 9, 2013. Appellant asserts that the decision in Bates will control the outcome of this appeal. Appellees have filed a response to the motion, agreeing to the abatement but requesting a limited abatement period. We GRANT appellant’s motion. We order the appeal ABATED pending a decision by the Texas Supreme Court in City of Houston v. Bates, No. 11-00778, or until further order of this court. The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this court’s active docket. The court will consider an appropriate motion to reinstate the appeal filed by either party, or the court may reinstate the appeal on its own motion. PER CURIAM 2