Opinion
13-23-00264-CV
07-18-2023
HIDALGO COUNTY IRRIGATION DISTRICT NO. 6, Appellant, v. JOE LOUIS AGUILAR SR., Appellee.
On appeal from the 206th District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas.
Before Justices Tijerina, Silva, and Peña
ORDER
PER CURIAM.
Appellant Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 6 has filed a motion to stay the trial court proceedings during the pendency of its appeal of the trial court's order denying its "Plea to the Jurisdiction and Alternatively Motion for Summary Judgment." See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(a)(8); see generally Harris Cnty. v. Sykes, 136 S.W.3d 635, 638 (Tex. 2004) ("If the trial court denies the governmental entity's claim of no jurisdiction, whether it has been asserted by a plea to the jurisdiction, a motion for summary judgment, or otherwise, the Legislature has provided that an interlocutory appeal may be brought."). The motion is opposed by appellee, Joe Louis Aguilar Sr.
Appellant contends that the stay is automatic pursuant to the applicability of subsections (b) and (c)(1) of the code, which state as follows:
(b) An interlocutory appeal under Subsection (a) . . . stays the commencement of a trial in the trial court pending resolution of the appeal. An interlocutory appeal under Subsection [(a)(8)] also stays all other proceedings in the trial court pending resolution of that appeal.
(c) A denial of a motion for summary judgment, special appearance, or plea to the jurisdiction described by Subsection [(a)(8)] is not subject to the automatic stay under Subsection (b) unless the motion, special appearance, or plea to the jurisdiction is filed and requested for submission or hearing before the trial court not later than the later of:
(1) a date set by the trial court in a scheduling order entered under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; . . . .Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(b), (c). Attached to appellant's motion for stay is the trial court's docket control order, requiring that a motion for summary judgment be filed by March 22, 2023. Appellant's motion, entitled "Plea to the Jurisdiction and Alternatively Motion for Summary Judgment," was filed March 13, 2023.
Having reviewed and fully considered appellant's motion to stay the trial court proceedings and appellee's response to the motion, we GRANT the motion and ORDER all proceedings in trial court cause number C-1216-20-D to be STAYED pending further order of this Court.