Opinion
01-24-00160-CV
05-30-2024
Armando Ramos and Shannon Mark Douthit v. Marvin Dunbar, Amy Oliver, Hilaria Leon, and Jeania Pegoda
Trial court: 506th District Court of Grimes County Trial court case number: 036245
ORDER
April Farris, Judge.
On February 27, 2024, appellants Armando Ramos and Shannon Mark Douthit, both incarcerated and proceeding pro se, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's February 9, 2024 order granting the "Chapter Fourteen Motion to Dismiss" of appellees Marvin Dunbar, Amy Oliver, Hilaria Leon, and Jeania Pegoda (collectively, "appellees"). The trial court ordered that appellants' claims asserted in trial court case number 036245 were "dismissed with prejudice."
On April 9, 2024, appellants filed a "Motion to Consolidate Appeals." In their motion, appellants stated that they "filed a Motion to Join Suit" in the trial court, requesting to consolidate trial court case number 036245, assigned to the suit filed by Ramos against appellees, and trial court case number 036251, assigned to the suit filed by Douthit against appellees. Appellants' motion requested that this Court "consolidate appeals."
On April 25, 2024, the Court denied appellants' motion, stating that it was not clear from the motion what specific relief was sought. Specifically, appellants' motion did not identify the appellate case numbers that appellants sought to consolidate.
On May 6, 2024, appellants filed a second motion to consolidate appeals. In that second motion, appellants again stated that they filed, in the trial court, a motion to consolidate trial court case numbers 036245 and 036251. Appellants requested that the Court reconsider its denial of appellants' request to consolidate appeals.
The appellate record reflects that on December 19, 2023, appellees filed, in the trial court, a "Motion to Consolidate," in which they requested that the trial court consolidate the suits brought by appellants into a single trial court case number. The appellate record further reflects that on December 19, 2023, the trial court granted appellees' motion and consolidated appellants' suits into trial court case number 036245.
On February, 9, 2024, after the consolidation of appellants' suits into a single trial court case number, the trial court granted appellees' motion to dismiss. On February 27, 2024, appellants jointly filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's order dismissing their claims against appellees.
In their second motion to consolidate, appellants reassert their request for this Court to "consolidate appeals." However, because, at the time of the trial court's February 9, 2024 order, there was only one trial court case, only one appellate case number was opened by the Clerk of this Court when appellants' notice of appeal was received. See TEX. R. APP. P. 12.2. Accordingly, consolidation of appellants' appeals is unnecessary because there is only a single appellate case number which already includes both appellants' appeals. Consequently, appellants' second motion to consolidate is denied as moot.
Also on May 6, 2024, appellants filed a "Motion for Extension of Time to rule on [Second] Motion to Consolidate Appeals and Consolidate Briefs." In this motion, appellants request "an extension of time to rule on [second] motion to consolidate appeals and consolidate appeals brief." Appellants request "an extension of . . . [thirty] days to consider [second] motion to consolidate appeals and conslidat[e] briefs."
Because this order disposes of appellants' second motion to consolidate, no extension is necessary. Further, the appellate record reflects that on April 4, 2024, appellants jointly filed an appellants' brief. For that reason, no extension is necessary to consider any motion related to the filing of a consolidated brief for appellants. Accordingly, appellants' motion for extension is denied.
It is so ORDERED.