Opinion
NO. 14-20-00724-CV
11-25-2020
PATRIOT CONTRACTING, LLC AND STEPHEN J. FRIEDMAN, Appellants v. MID-MAIN PROPERTIES, LP, Appellee
On Appeal from the 113th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2017-19892
ORDER
Appellants Patriot Contracting, LLC and Stephen J. Friedman appeal from an order signed October 22, 2020, denying their motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act ("TCPA"). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 27.001-.011. They filed their notice of appeal the same day.
On November 9, 2020, the trial court issued an order for appellants to pay $118,615.00 to appellee Mid-Main Properties, LP for costs and attorneys' fees within 21 days. Appellants have filed a motion to vacate the trial court's order or, alternatively, to stay the trial court's order pending the appeal.
We conclude the trial court's order of November 9, 2020 is void because it was signed during a stay of all other proceedings. See Tex. Civ. Prac & Rem. Code §§ 51.014(a)(12), (b); see also In re Geomet Recycling, LLC, 578 S.W.3d 82, 86-91 (Tex. 2019); In re Bates, 429 S.W.3d 47, 49-50, 52-54 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2014, orig. proceeding) (order held void because the trial court signed it during a stay of all proceedings.). We therefore VACATE the trial court's order of November 9, 2020.
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Jewell and Poissant.