Opinion
05-24-00022-CV
03-01-2024
IN RE JI AUDIO HOLDINGS, LLC, JAWBONE ACQUISITION, LLC, AND DANIEL SETTON, Relators
Original Proceeding from the 193rd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-23-16946
Before Justices Reichek, Goldstein, and Kennedy
MEMORANDUM OPINION
BONNIE LEE GOLDSTEIN, JUSTICE
Before the Court are relators' January 16, 2024 petition for writ of mandamus and January 18, 2023 motion for temporary relief. In their petition, relators challenge a trial court's order denying their motion to transfer venue. In their motion for temporary relief, relators ask for a stay of the underlying proceeding pending this Court's action on the petition.
Entitlement to mandamus relief requires a relator to show that the trial court clearly abused its discretion and that the relator lacks an adequate appellate remedy. In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 148 S.W.3d 124, 135-36 (Tex. 2004) (orig. proceeding). After reviewing relators' petition and the record before us, we conclude that relators have failed to demonstrate entitlement to mandamus relief.
Venue determinations are generally incidental trial rulings that are correctable on appeal and thus not subject to mandamus review. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 15.064; Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. v. Thirteenth Court of Appeals, 929 S.W.2d 440, 441 (Tex. 1996) (per curiam) (orig. proceeding). Relators seek mandamus review of the trial court's venue determination under a statutory exception to this general rule. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 15.0642. The statute provides that, subject to certain time limitations, “[a] party may apply for a writ of mandamus with an appellate court to enforce the mandatory venue provisions of this chapter.” Id. Relators, however, seek to avoid application of a mandatory venue provision and transfer the case to a permissive venue. We question whether this constitutes enforcement of a mandatory venue provision under section 15.0642. And relators have failed to adequately brief the issue. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.3(h). Therefore, we conclude that relators have failed to demonstrate entitlement to mandamus relief.
Accordingly, we deny the petition for writ of mandamus. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.8(A).
We also deny as moot relators' motion for temporary relief.