ACCEPTED
01-15-00158-CV
FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
3/9/2015 10:01:10 AM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
CAUSE NO. 1-15-00158-CV
______________________________________________
FILED IN
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT 1st COURT
OF OF APPEALS
TEXAS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
AT HOUSTON, TEXAS 3/9/2015 10:01:10 AM
______________________________________________
CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Clerk
CANDICE SCHWAGER, Pro Se
Appellant
V.
CAROL ANNE MANLEY, DAVID PETERSON, SILVERADO SENIOR
LIVING, INC. D/B/A SILVERADO LIVING CENTER-SUGAR LAND
Appellees
______________________________________________
APPELLEE'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
______________________________________________
C. Henry Kollenberg
State Bar No. 11667800
kollenberg@craincaton.com
Sarah Patel Pacheco
State Bar No. 00788164
pacheco-efile@craincaton.com
Kathleen Tanner Beduze
State Bar No. 24052205
beduze-efile@craincaton.com
Crain, Caton & James, P.C.
1401 McKinney St., Suite 1700
Houston, Texas 77010
(713) 658-2323 (Telephone)
(713) 658-1921 (Facsimile)
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ I
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................ II
OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................1
ARGUMENT & AUTHORITY ..............................................................................2
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ....................................................................7
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE ....................................................................7
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ..............................................................................8
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
Bison Bldg. Materials, Ltd. v. Aldridge, 422 S.W.3d 582 (Tex. 2012).......................2
Jones v. Louis Vuitton Houston Galleria, 01-14-00403-CV, 2014 WL 2593442
(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 10, 2014) ............................................... 4, 8
Riggs v. Perlman, 01-13-00974-CV, 2014 WL 2627841 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st
Dist.] June 12, 2014) ...............................................................................................4
Stary v. DeBord, 967 S.W.2d 352 (Tex. 1998) ...........................................................2
Statutes
TEX. CIV. P & REM. CODE, §74.351(a) ........................................................................4
TEX. CIV. P. & REM. CODE, CHAPTER 10 ....................................................................5
TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE, §51.014 ................................................................ 2, 3
Rules
TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a)................................................................................................5
TEX. R. APP. P. 43.4. ...................................................................................................5
TEX. R. CIV. P., Rule 91(a)..................................................................................... 3, 4
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.7 .....................................5
II
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OVERVIEW
1. On February 9, 2015, Candice Schwager (“Appellant Schwager”), pro
se, filed a Notice of Appeal1 in Cause No. 1-15-00157-CV in which she complains
of five interlocutory orders entered by Probate Court One (1) of Harris County,
Texas. These orders are as follows:
a. Order granting Silverado Senior Living, Inc. d/b/a Silverado Senior
Living – Sugar Land's (“Silverado”) Rule 91a motion to dismiss;
b. Order denying motion to reconsider 91a motion to dismiss and motion
for sanctions, signed on January 9, 2015;
c. Order granting Silverado's first amended plea to the jurisdiction, signed
on January 9, 2015;
d. Order granting Sanctions against Candice Schwager under Texas Rule
of Civil Procedure 10 for $5000.00 signed November 10, 2014,
reconsideration denied January 9, 2015; and
e. Order granting Sanctions against Candice Schwager under Rule 3.7 of
the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct for $10,000,
dated November 10, 2014, reconsideration denied January 9, 2015.
2. This Court does not have jurisdiction to hear this appeal because a final
judgment has not been entered by the Honorable Judge Loyd Wright, presiding
judge of Harris County Probate Court One (1), a statutory probate court.
3. Accordingly, Appellant Schwager’s appeal should be dismissed for
lack of jurisdiction.
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ARGUMENT & AUTHORITY
4. Texas appellate courts only have jurisdiction to review final judgments;
interlocutory orders are appealable only if specified by statute. See Bison Bldg.
Materials, Ltd. v. Aldridge, 422 S.W.3d 582, 585 (Tex. 2012); Stary v. DeBord, 967
S.W.2d 352, 352-353 (Tex. 1998). The orders Appellant Schwager appeals in the
instant matter are not a final judgment, and no statute allows for an interlocutory
appeal in this case. Id.
5. Section 51.014 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code provides
as follows:
A person may appeal from an interlocutory order of a district court,
county court at law, statutory probate court, or county court that:
(1) appoints a receiver or trustee;
(2) overrules a motion to vacate an order that appoints a
receiver or trustee;
(3) certifies or refuses to certify a class in a suit brought under
Rule 42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
(4) grants or refuses a temporary injunction or grants or
overrules a motion to dissolve a temporary injunction as
provided by Chapter 65;
(5) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based on an
assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer
or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the
state;
(6) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based in
whole or in part upon a claim against or defense by a
member of the electronic or print media, acting in such
1
Mackey Glen Peterson, Tonya Peterson, Don Leslie Peterson, Carol Peterson, and Lonny
Peterson, Appellant Schwager’s clients in trial court Cause No. 427,208-401, filed a First
Amended Notice of Appeal in Cause No. 01-15-00157-CVseeking relief on identical grounds.
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capacity, or a person whose communication appears in or
is published by the electronic or print media, arising under
the free speech or free press clause of the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, or Article I,
Section 8, of the Texas Constitution, or Chapter 73;
(7) grants or denies the special appearance of a defendant
under Rule 120a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, except
in a suit brought under the Family Code;
(8) grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a
governmental unit as that term is defined in Section
101.001;
(9) denies all or part of the relief sought by a motion under
Section 74.351(b), except that an appeal may not be taken
from an order granting an extension under Section 74.351;
(10) grants relief sought by a motion under Section 74.351(1);
(11) denies a motion to dismiss filed under Section 90.007;
(12) denies a motion for summary judgment filed by an electric
utility regarding liability in a suit subject to Section
75.0022; or
(13) denies a motion to dismiss filed under Section 27.003.
TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE §51.014.
6. In Jones v. Louis Vuitton Houston Galleria, a similar case involving, in
part, an interlocutory order of dismissal pursuant to Rule 91(a) of the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure, this Court held that:
Texas appellate courts only have jurisdiction to review final
judgments, and interlocutory orders are only appealable if
specified by statute. An order that disposes of claims against one or
some of the defendants in a suit does not render a judgment final. The
order appealed from here is not a final judgment because the suit is
still pending in Brazoria County and only Mercedes Benz has been
dismissed as defendant. The appellant has failed to point to any
statutory authority that would allow for an interlocutory appeal. We
dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
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Jones v. Louis Vuitton Houston Galleria, 01-14-00403-CV, 2014 WL 2593442, at
*1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 10, 2014) (internal citations omitted)
(emphasis added).
7. In Riggs v. Perlman, this Court considered the appeal of an “Order of
Dismissal with Prejudice” pursuant to Section74.351(a) of the Texas Civil Practice
& Remedies Code, which dismissed only Appellant Riggs’ causes of action against
Appellee Perlman, did not dispose of all parties and claims, and did not purport to
be a final judgment. Riggs v. Perlman, 01-13-00974-CV, 2014 WL 2627841, at *1
(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.], June 12, 2014). Finding no evidence of a
severance or final judgment in the record, this Court ruled that the Order of
Dismissal with Prejudice was an interlocutory order and, therefore, not appealable.
See id.
8. As in Jones and Riggs, the order granting Silverado’s Rule 91(a)
Motion to Dismiss is not a final judgment because the suit is still pending in the
statutory probate Court Number One in Harris County, Texas and only Silverado
has been dismissed as a defendant. Appellant Schwager’s claims against Silverado
have not been severed and no final judgment has been rendered. Appellant
Schwager has failed to point to any statutory authority that would allow an
interlocutory appeal of the order granting Silverado’s Rule 91(a) Motion to Dismiss
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or Appellant Schwager’s Motion to Reconsider 91a Motion to Dismiss and Motion
for Sanctions, signed on January 9, 2015.
9. Likewise, Appellant Schwager points to no statutory authority that
would allow an interlocutory appeal of the January 9, 2015 order granting
Silverado’s First Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction or the November 10, 2014 orders
assessing monetary sanctions against Appellant Schwager, personally, for
groundless and bad faith pleading violation of Chapter 10 of the Texas Civil
Practice & Remedies Code and for violation of Rule 3.7 of the Texas Disciplinary
Rules of Professional Conduct.
10. Accordingly, this Court should dismiss this appeal for lack of
jurisdiction and the cost of appeal should be taxed against Appellant Schwager. See
TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a); TEX. R. APP. P. 43.4.
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Respectfully submitted,
CRAIN, CATON & JAMES
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
By: /s/ Sarah Patel Pacheco
C. Henry Kollenberg
State Bar No. 1166780
ckollenberg@craincaton.com
Sarah Patel Pacheco
State Bar No. 00788164
pacheco-efile@craincaton.com
Kathleen Tanner Beduze
State Bar No. 24052205
beduze-efile@craincaton.com
1401 McKinney St, Suite 1700
Houston, Texas 77010
(713) 658-2323 (Telephone)
(713) 658-1921 (Facsimile)
Attorneys for Appellees
Carol Manley and David Peterson
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CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This document contains 1102 words. This word count was created by
highlighting portions of the document and performing a word count on such
highlighted portions. This word count does not include words excluded from the
count by Rule 9.4(i)(1), such as caption, identity of parties and counsel, table of
contents, index of authorities, statement of issues presented, signature, certificate
of service, or certificate of compliance.
/s/Kathleen Tanner Beduze
KATHLEEN TANNER BEDUZE
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I hereby certify that I attempted to confer with Candice Schwager, pro se,
prior to filing this motion. Ms. Schwager indicated that she would dismiss her
appeal once Phil Ross filed an unknown document. As of filing, Ms. Schwager
had not dismissed her appeal, so presumably Ms. Schwager is opposed to this
motion.
/s/ Kathleen Tanner Beduze
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing instrument has
been forwarded to:
Philip M. Ross Jill Young
1006 Holbrook Road Macintyre, McCulloch, Stanfield,
San Antonio, TX 78218 Young, LLP
2900 Weslayan, Suite 150
Houston, Texas 77027
Candice Schwager Russ Jones
1417 Ramada Drive Underwood, Jones, Scherrer & Malouf,
Houston, Texas 77062 PLLC
5177 Richmond Avenue, Suite 505
Houston, Texas 77056
Josh Davis
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP
Weslayan Tower, Suite 1400
24 Greenway Plaza
Houston, Texas 77046
via facsimile, e-file and/or electronic delivery, by agreement, on the 9th day of
March, 2015.
/s/ Kathleen Tanner Beduze
KATHLEEN TANNER BEDUZE
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