Opinion
NO. 14-14-00648-CV
08-15-2014
IN RE JARED WOODFILL, STEVEN F. HOTZE, MD, F.N. WILLIAMS, SR., AND MAX MILLER, Relators
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS
152nd District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2014-44974
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On August 11, 2014, relators Jared Woodfill, Steven F. Hotze, MD, F.N. Williams, Sr., and Max Miller filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this Court. See Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 273.061; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator ask this Court to compel respondents, Annise D Parker, Mayor of the City of Houston; Anna Russell, City Secretary of the City of Houston; and Houston City Council Members Stephen C. Costello, David W. Robinson, Michael Kubosh, C.O. "Brad" Bradford, Jack Christi, Brenda Stardig, Jerry Davis, Ellen Cohen, Dwight Boykins, Dave Martin, Richard Nguyen, Oliver Pennington, Ed Gonzalez, Robert Gallegos, Mike Laster, and Larry Green, to (1) suspend the enforcement of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO); (2) notify the public of such suspension and of the consequence that no action taken under HERO may be legal or valid; (3) reconsider whether HERO should be repealed in its entirety; and (4) if the City Council does not repeal HERO, then submit HERO to popular vote.
Relators are simultaneously pursuing the same relief in Woodfill, et al. v. Annise D. Parker, et al., No. 2014-44974 in the 152nd District Court of Harris County. Without addressing the merits of relators' petition, we conclude that mandamus relief is foreclosed because relators have an adequate remedy by appeal after judgment in the pending trial case. See In re Reece, 341 S.W.3d 360, 364 (Tex. 2011) (orig. proceeding) (requiring relator to show lack of an adequate remedy by appeal to be entitled to mandamus).
Relators have not established that they are entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, we deny relators' petition for writ of mandamus.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Boyce, Christopher, and Jamison.