TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-15-00455-CV
Scott P. Ogle, Appellant
v.
Maeli Hector, a/k/a Maeli Arellano, a/k/a Maeli Johnson, Appellee
FROM THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 2 OF TRAVIS COUNTY
NO. C-1-CV-14-011792, HONORABLE TODD T. WONG, JUDGE PRESIDING
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Scott P. Ogle filed his original petition in December 2014, naming appellee
Maeli Hector as the sole defendant. In his third amended petition, filed in May 2015, he added
Dicky Grigg and Stephen Reid Minot “as Defendants to take their depositions to investigate potential
claims or suits associated with this lawsuit.” He made several allegations against Grigg and Minot,
such as accusing Minot of misdiagnosing him with a mental disorder and accusing Grigg of
mischaracterizing Ogle’s behavior and threatening to cause him trouble with the State Bar of Texas.1
In his prayer, Ogle asked for “judgment against Defendants for actual damages,” interest, and court
costs. He arranged to have Grigg and Minot served with citation, and both Grigg and Minot filed
answers to the lawsuit.
1
Ogle is a licensed attorney representing himself in this appeal and the underlying matter.
When the trial court signed orders granting Hector’s motions for summary judgment,2
Ogle filed a notice of appeal. In our review of the clerk’s record, we realized that the orders granting
summary judgment in favor of Hector were interlocutory because Grigg and Minot had not been
dismissed from the suit by Ogle or by way of an order from the trial court. We sent Ogle a letter
inquiring into whether we could exercise jurisdiction, specifically noting that his claims against
Grigg and Minot appeared to still be live in the trial court. Ogle responded with a “Provisional
Motion to Abate and Remand,” stating that he had learned that we received a supplemental clerk’s
record containing an order granting Grigg’s motion to quash his deposition3 and that he had received
a notice that the cause would be set for submission shortly. He concluded that if we were “still
concerned with the jurisdictional issue,” we should abate the cause to the trial court “for resolution
of any outstanding issues.” He did not address our concerns or attempt to explain the status of the
underlying suit or how we could possibly exercise jurisdiction over the appeal.
While it might be that he simply meant to apply rule 202 for purposes of deposing
Grigg and Minot,4 the fact remains that Ogle, a licensed attorney, added Grigg and Minot as
2
Ogle originally only asserted a claim for breach of contract against Hector, but after she
filed her motion for summary judgment, he filed his third amended petition, adding a claim for
promissory estoppel. Hector then filed a motion for summary judgment addressing that claim. The
trial court held separate hearings on the two motion for summary judgment and signed separate
orders granting summary judgment for Hector on Ogle’s claims breach of contract and promissory
estoppel.
3
The trial court signed an order granting Grigg’s motion to quash his deposition and
granting Grigg attorney’s fees, but that order did not remove Grigg as a defendant in the suit.
4
Rule 202 addresses the process for asking a trial court to allow the taking of a deposition
to perpetuate or obtain testimony for use in an anticipated lawsuit or to investigate a potential claim
or suit. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 202.1; see also Tex. R. Civ. P. 202.2-.5.
2
defendants in his lawsuit when he filed his third amended petition. Grigg and Minot were both
served and both filed answers. The trial court’s orders related to Hector did not address Grigg
or Minot at all (and indeed, their style headings did not list Grigg or Minot as defendants). An order
that does not dispose of all claims against all defendants is interlocutory and generally cannot
be appealed. See Wiley v. Hocutt, Inc., No. 03-15-00619-CV, 2015 WL 6655840, at *1 (Tex.
App.—Austin Oct. 30, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.). Rather than abate this appeal, we dismiss for
want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a); Wiley, 2015 WL 6655840, at *1.
__________________________________________
David Puryear, Justice
Before Justices Puryear, Pemberton, and Bourland
Dissenting Opinion by Justice Pemberton
Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction
Filed: July 14, 2016
3
Scott P. Ogle v. Maeli Hector, A/K/A Maeli Arellano, A/K/A Maeli Johnson
Combined Opinion