Opinion
01-23-00473-CV
06-04-2024
Ava Washington v. Margaret Victoria
Probate Court No. 4 of Harris County Trial court case number: 454297
ORDER
Veronica Rivas-Molloy, Judge
In this probate matter, Ava Washington filed her notice of appeal on June 22, 2023, challenging the trial court's Final Judgment signed on March 23, 2023. The Final Judgment was signed after a jury rendered a verdict, finding that the "Order Re-Appointing Ava Washington as Independent Executor of the Estate of Billy Washington, Deceased, and for Issuance of Letters Testamentary dated December 12, 2018 [shall be] set aside."
On April 15, 2024, Cook Law, PLLC ("Cook Law") filed a notice of appeal, challenging the trial court's Judgment concerning Margaret Victoria's Qualification to Serve as Independent Executor, signed on March 15, 2024, and denial of Cook Law's request for a jury trial. The Judgment was signed after a bench trial, finding that "Margaret Victoria is not unsuitable to serve as Independent Executor."
On April 29, 2024, Cook Law filed a Motion to Sever Appeal, requesting that this Court sever its appeal of the March 15, 2024 Judgment into a separate appellate cause number with separate deadlines because "[e]ven though both judgments are from the same underlying case, they involve different parties and issues." Cook Law asserts that severance is necessary also because "[it] will be unable to timely file its [o]pening [b]rief appealing the March 15, 2024[] final judgment [as] the deadline to file Appellant's brief has already passed." More than ten days have passed since the filing of the motion to sever with no opposition filed in response. See Tex. R. App. P. 10.1(a)(5), 10.3(a).
The motion to sever is granted. We direct the Clerk of the Court to transfer Cook Law's notice of appeal from the trial court's March 15, 2024 Judgment, and any relevant records, into a new appellate cause number, 01-24-00409-CV, styled Cook Law, PLLC v. Margaret Victoria, and assign its own briefing deadlines accordingly.
It is so ORDERED.