Opinion
No. 11-19-00407-CV
01-03-2020
KNOX WASTE SERVICE, LLC AND ADOLPHO MARTINEZ, JR., Appellants v. JASON SHERMAN AND MELISSA MILES SHERMAN, Appellees
On Appeal from the 266th District Court Erath County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. CV35857
ORDER
In this accelerated appeal from an order in which the trial court denied a motion to compel arbitration, Appellants have filed in this court an emergency motion to stay litigation proceedings and discovery. In their motion, Appellants state that the trial court has instructed that a trial date will be set in March 2020. Further, the reporter's record reflects that, at the conclusion of the hearing on Appellants' motion to compel arbitration, the trial court instructed the parties to prepare proposed scheduling orders based on a trial date of March 23, 2020. Appellants asks us to stay discovery and other continuing litigation in the trial court pending the outcome of their interlocutory appeal.
"Both the Federal and Texas Arbitration Acts require courts to stay litigation of issues that are subject to arbitration." In re Merrill Lynch Tr. Co. FSB, 235 S.W.3d 185, 195 (Tex. 2007) (citing 9 U.S.C. § 3; TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 171.025, 172.174 (West 2019)). We conclude that Appellants are entitled to a stay of all proceedings below, including discovery. See Suarez-Valdez v. Shearson Lehman/Am. Exp., Inc., 858 F.2d 648, 649 (11th Cir. 1988) ("The district court erred in refusing to stay discovery. An agreement to arbitrate is an agreement to proceed under arbitration and not under court rules."); In re Champion Techs., Inc., 173 S.W.3d 595, 597-99 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2005, orig. proceeding) (holding that mandamus was appropriate where trial court denied motion to stay discovery and deferred a ruling on motion to compel arbitration until after discovery could be completed).
Appellants' emergency motion to stay is granted. See TEX. R. APP. P. 29.3 (stating that, when an appeal from an interlocutory order is perfected, "appellate court may make any temporary orders necessary to preserve the parties' rights until disposition of the appeal and may require appropriate security"). Accordingly, all proceedings below are stayed pending further order of this court or final disposition of the interlocutory appeal in this cause. January 3, 2020
PER CURIAM Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Stretcher, J., and Wright, S.C.J. Willson, J., not participating.
Jim R. Wright, Senior Chief Justice (Retired), Court of Appeals, 11th District of Texas at Eastland, sitting by assignment.