Opinion
Appellate case number: 01-14-00479-CV
04-20-2016
Marvinell Harlan v. North Forest ISD et al.
ORDER Trial court case number: 2013-64138 Trial court: 190th District Court of Harris County
On December 9, 2014, the State filed a letter in this case explaining the basis for its contention that the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC), Dr. Ikedinobi Eni, and Administrative Hearing Officer Jacque Coleman are not appellees in this appeal. The letter set forth the procedural history and timeline of the trial court's orders sustaining a plea to the jurisdiction, granting a motion to dismiss under Rule 91a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, denying Marvinell Harlan's motion for new trial, and severing the claims against TDI-DWC, Dr. Eni, and Ms. Coleman into a final judgment.
The State impliedly argued that the notice of appeal was untimely by reference to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Ms. Harlan's notice of appeal was filed 31 days after the trial court's final judgment in the underlying severed case, 2013-64138-A. However, prior to the trial court's severance order, Ms. Harlan filed a motion for new trial, which extended the time for filing a notice of appeal to 90 days after the trial court's entry of judgment. See Brighton v. Koss, 415 S.W.3d 864, 866 (Tex. 2013) (holding that prematurely filed motion for new trial extends appellate deadlines when judgment does not correct an error asserted in the motion); TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a). Therefore, we concluded that the notice of appeal was timely filed.
Although the notice of appeal mistakenly listed "North Forest ISD Self-Insured Carrier" as an appellee and mistakenly referred to the original trial court cause number instead of the severed cause number, the substance of Harlan's notice of appeal was sufficient to inform the court that she wished to appeal the trial court's rulings on the plea to the jurisdiction and motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 91a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which were made final by an order of severance on May 7, 2014.
Accordingly, by an order entered on September 22, 2015, the Court directed the Clerk of this Court to correct the name of this appeal to "Marvinell Harlan v. Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC), Dr. Ikedinobi Eni, and Administrative Hearing Officer Jacque Coleman," and to correct the trial court cause number reflected in this Court's records to 2013-63148-A.
The Court requested that the appellees file a brief or a letter indicating their intent to waive the filing of a brief. No response was filed, and the case was set for submission without oral argument on April 27, 2016. Upon consideration of the merits of this appeal, it has come to the Court's attention that the September 22, 2015 order was not delivered to the appellees or their counsel. Accordingly, we withdraw this case from the April 27, 2015 submission calendar, and order the appellees to file a brief or letter indicating their intent to waive the filing of a brief no later than Thursday, May 19, 2016.
Article IV, Section 7 of the General Appropriations Act of 2016-17 requires this Court to "make every effort" to ensure that cases are resolved within two years. See General Appropriations Act, Act of May 14, 2015, 84th Leg., R.S. ch. 1281 §1, 2015 Tex. Sess. Law. Serv. 4868 ("Performance Measure Targets"). The notice of appeal in this case was received in this Court in June 2014. As such, it is the intent of the Court to set this case for submission promptly—in June 2016—and with the goal of compliance with the performance measure target established by the Legislature. To that end, the appellees' prompt attention to this order will be greatly appreciated by the Court, and no further extensions of any procedural deadlines will be granted, absent extraordinary circumstances based upon a showing of good cause.
It is so ORDERED. Judge's signature: /s/ Michael Massengale
Acting individually Date: April 20, 2016