Opinion
NO. 09-20-00186-CV
07-23-2020
IN RE CHRISTINE WARD
On Appeal from the 418th District Court Montgomery County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 19-11-15343-CV
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On July 23, 2020, Christine Ward, Relator, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus and a motion for temporary relief. Relator is the respondent in a suit for divorce that is scheduled for trial on August 3, 2020, and for a pre-trial conference on July 24, 2020. Relator contends the trial court clearly abused its discretion by failing to rule on her amended motion to conduct the pre-trial conference via Zoom.
Generally, a trial court has a ministerial duty to rule on a party's properly filed motion within a reasonable time after the motion is submitted to the trial court or after the party's request for a ruling. In this case, however, a standing order included in the appendix to Relator's mandamus petition shows that the trial court has implemented a procedure for applying to participate in a court proceeding via video conferencing. That procedure includes providing an email address to court staff no later than 3:00 p.m. on the day prior to the proceeding and emailing all exhibits the participant intends to offer to the parties and court reporters. Relator has not shown that she complied with the procedure in the standing order, nor has she made any showing that the trial court has refused to follow that procedure or that the order has since the date it was issued been withdrawn. Furthermore, merely filing a motion with a court's clerk does not establish that the party has brought the motion to the attention of the court.
See Eli Lilly & Co. v. Marshall, 829 S.W.2d 157, 158 (Tex. 1992) (orig. proceeding) (mandamus conditionally granted to compel trial court to conduct a hearing).
In re Amaro, No. 14-14-00340-CV, 2014 WL 2157088, at *1-2 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] May 20, 2014, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
Relator failed to establish a clear abuse of discretion by the trial court. Accordingly, the petition for a writ of mandamus and the motion for temporary relief are
DENIED.
PER CURIAM Submitted on July 23, 2020
Opinion Delivered July 23, 2020 Before McKeithen, C.J., Horton and Johnson, JJ.