Opinion
NUMBER 13-18-00074-CV
02-02-2018
NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS, NUECES COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT, DEL MAR PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT, CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, AND PORT ARANSAS I. S. D., Appellants, v. SUNDIAL OWNER'S ASSOCIATION, INC., Appellee.
On Appellants' Emergency Motion to Stay Pending Interlocutory Appeal.
ORDER
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Contreras and Benavides
Order Per Curiam
This is an appeal of an order denying a plea to the jurisdiction. Appellants Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County Hospital District, Del Mar Public Junior College District, City of Corpus Christi, and Port Aransas I.S.D. have filed an emergency motion with this Court seeking a stay of the underlying trial court proceedings until such time as the appeal may be considered and decided. In their motion, appellants represent that the challenged order was signed by the trial court on January 29, 2018, and that trial is set for Monday, February 5, 2018.
A governmental unit may appeal an interlocutory order denying its plea to the jurisdiction. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(8) (West, Westlaw through 2017 1st C.S.). Such an appeal automatically stays all trial court proceedings as long as the plea to the jurisdiction was filed not later than the later of:
(1) a date set by the trial court in a scheduling order entered under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; or
(2) the 180th day after the date the defendant files:
Id. § 51.014(b), (c). Appellants do not indicate in their emergency motion when their plea to the jurisdiction was filed or whether it was timely under the above statute.(A) the original answer;
(B) the first other responsive pleading to the plaintiff's petition; or
(C) if the plaintiff files an amended pleading that alleges a new cause of action against the defendant and the defendant is able to raise a defense to the new cause of action under Subsection (a)(5), (7), or (8) [immunity, special appearance, or plea to the jurisdiction], the responsive pleading that raises that defense.
Nevertheless, having reviewed appellants' emergency motion and in consideration of the imminent trial date, this Court is of the opinion that the motion should be granted and the trial court proceedings stayed, at least until appellee has the opportunity to respond to the motion.
We therefore order all proceedings in the underlying suit, cause number 2016- DCV-0484-D in the 105th District Court of Nueces County, STAYED until further order of this Court. We further ORDER appellee, Sundial Owner's Association, Inc., to file any response to appellants' emergency motion with this Court on or before 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 5, 2018.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
PER CURIAM Delivered and filed the 2nd day of February, 2018.