Opinion
No. 02-20-00030-CV
02-24-2020
IN RE HARVEY AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH, Relator
Original Proceeding Tarrant County
Trial Court No. 141-312699-19 Before Gabriel, Womack, and Wallach, JJ.
Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Relator Harvey Avenue Baptist Church (the Church) filed its petition for writ of mandamus complaining of the trial court's denial of its plea to the jurisdiction. The Church's plea to the jurisdiction had requested that the trial court dismiss the claims brought against the Church by Real Party in Interest Julius L. Jackson, Jr. We requested that Jackson file a response to the Church's petition for writ of mandamus. Jackson did not file a response; his counsel, however, informed us that Jackson had nonsuited all claims against the Church in the underlying suit. We then obtained a copy of the trial court's order dismissing Jackson's claims.
On February 7, 2020, we sent the Church a letter expressing our concern that we do not have jurisdiction because the Church's petition appeared to be moot. See In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d 732, 737 (Tex. 2005) (orig. proceeding) ("A case becomes moot if a controversy ceases to exist between the parties at any stage of the legal proceedings . . . ."); In re De Anda, No. 13-16-00561-CV, 2017 WL 219112, at *1 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christ-Edinburg, Jan. 13, 2017, orig. proceeding) (dismissing petition for writ of mandamus as moot after relator's claims in the underlying lawsuit were nonsuited). We informed the Church that unless it filed a response showing grounds for continuing its petition for writ of mandamus, we would dismiss it. Cf. Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a); 44.3. The Church did not file a response. Accordingly, we dismiss the Church's petition for writ of mandamus. See Kellogg Brown & Root, 166 S.W.3d at 737; De Anda, 2017 WL 219112, at *1; cf. Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f).
Per Curiam Delivered: February 24, 2020