Opinion
NO. 14-17-00733-CV
01-18-2018
JAY & VMK, CORP. AND JOHN KELLY, Appellants v. BERTRAM TURNER AND REGULATORY LICENSING & COMPLIANCE AND CHRISTINA LOPEZ, HUMANITARIAN FINANCIAL INC., Appellees
On Appeal from the 164th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2015-34625
ABATEMENT ORDER
This is an interlocutory appeal from an order appointing a receiver. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(1) (West 2015 & Supp. 2017). Appellants filed their brief on November 21, 2017. Due to extensions they sought and were granted, appellees' brief was due January 10, 2018.
On December 28, 2017, appellees filed a motion for a 90-day extension based in part on an opinion by the Supreme Court of Texas holding appellees' counsel is disqualified to represent appellees in the case underlying that proceeding. See In re Turner, No. 17-0099, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2017 WL 6542689 (Tex. Dec. 22, 2017) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam). Appellees' motion for extension states they intend to file a motion for clarification in the supreme court to determine whether the ruling disqualifies their lawyer from representing them in all matters, including this appeal, or is limited to the case before the supreme court. The motion for extension has been pending for more than ten days, and no response has been filed.
Instead of extending the due date for appellees' brief, we ABATE this appeal and ORDER as follows:
1. Appellees' motion for extension is DENIED.
2. Appellees shall notify this court of the supreme court's ruling in No. 17-0099, In re Turner, on the scope-of-disqualification issue described above. Such notice shall be filed within 10 days of the ruling.
3. Appellees shall notify this court by March 19, 2018, if no ruling has been made. The notice should inform the court about the status of In re Turner.
4. Unless good cause is shown to continue the abatement, this appeal will be reinstated on or after March 19, 2018.
5. Appellees' brief will be due 20 days after the appeal is reinstated.
The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this court's active docket. The appeal will be reinstated on this court's active docket on or after March 19, 2018. The court will also consider an appropriate motion to reinstate the appeal filed by either party.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Boyce, Jamison, and Brown.