Jason Rowell v. Firetrol Protection Systems

ACCEPTED 12-15-00113-CV TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS TYLER, TEXAS 7/3/2015 12:09:23 PM CATHY LUSK CLERK No.: 12-15-00113-CV In The FILED IN 12th COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals TYLER, TEXAS 7/3/2015 12:09:23 PM CATHY S. LUSK Clerk TWELFTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS Tyler, Texas __________________________________________________________________ JASON ROWELL Appellant, v. FIRETROL PROTECTION SYSTEMS Appellee. __________________________________________________________________ Appealed from 114th Judicial District Court of Smith County, Texas, the Honorable Christi Kennedy, Presiding __________________________________________________________________ JOINT MOTION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE MOTION TO WITHDRAW MOTION TO RECONSIDER __________________________________________________________________ Niles Illich SBOT: 24069969 Law Office of Niles Illich, Ph.D., J.D. 701 Commerce Street, Suite 400 Dallas, Texas 75202 Telephone: (972) 802 − 1788 Facsimile: (972) 682 – 7586 Email: Niles@appealstx.com ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT JASON ROWELL __________________________________________________________________ IDENTITY OF THE PARTIES AND COUNSEL __________________________________________________________________ Trial Judge: The Hon. Christi Kennedy Appellant: Jason Rowell Appellant’s Appellate Counsel: Niles Illich Law Office of Niles Illich, Ph.D., J.D. 701 Commerce Street Suite 400 Dallas, Texas 75202 Appellant’s Trial Counsel: Pro-se Appellee: Firetrol Protection Systems Appellee’s Trial/Appellate Counsel: Roger W. Anderson Gillen and Anderson 613 Shelley Park Plz Tyler, TX ii __________________________________________________________________ Joint Motion for Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice __________________________________________________________________ The parties, Jason Rowell and Firetrol Protection Systems ask this Court to dismiss this appeal with prejudice or in the alternative to withdraw the pending motion to reconsider. Introduction 1. Jason Rowell (“Rowell”) is the Appellant and Firetrol Protection Systems (“Firetrol”) is the Appellee. 2. The 114th Judicial District Court of Smith County resolved the underlying case by dismissing it under the anti-SLAPP statute. 3. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on April 30, 2015. 4. Appellant filed a motion for new trial on April 29, 2015. This motion is pending before the trial court. The parties have agreed to an order that would grant the motion for new trial and then dismiss the case in the trial court. Argument and Authorities 5. There is no specified deadline to file a motion for voluntary dismissal. 1 6. Rule 42.1(a)(1) permits an Appellant to file a motion requesting voluntary dismissal and an appellate court to “dismiss the appeal or affirm the appealed 1 TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1. 3 judgment or order unless such disposition would prevent a party from seeking relief to which it would otherwise be entitled.”2 7. An appellant is not required to explain his motivation for requesting the voluntary dismissal nor is he required to sign the motion.3 But here both parties seek a final dismissal because they have resolved the issues between them. Motion to Withdraw Motion to Reconsider 8. This Court dismissed this case on June 3, 2015. On June 5, 2015, Appellant filed a motion to reconsider. This Motion has not yet been ruled on. In the alternative to dismissing this case for a second time, Appellant moves to withdraw his motion to reconsider and to permit this Court’s opinion of June 3, 2015 to be the final resolution of this appeal. Conclusion and Prayer 9. Prayer Appellant and Appellee have resolved the issues between them and seek to end this appeal. Appellant asks this Court to dismiss the appeal with prejudice or in the alternative to withdraw Appellant’s motion to reconsider and to permit the Court’s opinion from June 3, 2015 to be the final resolution of this appeal. 2 Id. at 42.1(a)(1). 3 See generally id. (not requiring a party to show cause for seeking dismissal and signature requirement relates only to criminal appeals). 4 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Niles Illich Niles Illich The Law Office of Niles Illich, Ph.D., J.D. 701 Commerce Suite 400 Dallas, Texas 75202 Direct: (972) 802-1788 Facsimile: (972) 236-0088 Email: Niles@appealstx.com CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE This is to certify that on July 1, 2015 that Roger Anderson, counsel for Firetrol, agreed to the motion to dismiss. /s/ Niles Illich Niles Illich CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion was served on: Roger W. Anderson Gillen and Anderson 613 Shelley Park Plz Tyler, Texas By electronic service before 5:00 PM on July 3, 2015. /s/ Niles Illich Niles Illich 5 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE This is to certify that this motion complies with the length and style requirements in Rule 9.4 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The motion is presented in Times New Roman font, size 14. The motion contains 684 words. /s/ Niles Illich Niles Illich 6