The plaintiff bears the burden of proof to establish prima facie proof of each joinder element. See id. at 602-03; Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 913 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). If the defendant offers no rebuttal evidence, the inquiry is over.
(Tex.Civ. Prac. Rem. Code Ann. ยง 15.003Copr.); Surgitek v. Abel, 997 S.W.2d 598, 603 (Tex. 1999); Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 913 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). An appellate court "is not constrained solely to review the pleadings and affidavits, but should consider the entire record, including any evidence presented at the hearing."
The plaintiffs bear the burden to establish prima facie proof of each joinder and intervention element. See id. at 602-03; Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 913 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). All properly pleaded venue facts are taken as true unless specifically denied by an opposing party.
We have found only one post- Surgitek case in Texas in which an essential need was found to exist. In Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 917 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.), the Corpus Christi court found that, when an indispensable witness (who worked in Monterrey, Mexico) could not be available for a trial held away from the state border, an essential need existed to conduct the trial in Cameron County (the county containing Brownsville and Harlingen). The court also acknowledged that, under Surgitek, Bristol-Myers Corp. v. Abel, 997 S.W.2d 598 (Tex. 1999), a mere need to pool resources is insufficient. Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 915 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.).
Texas law prescribes a four-year statute of limitations for fraud actions, including claims for fraudulent concealment. See Tex. Civ. Prac. Rem. Code Ann. ยง 16.004(a) (Vernon 2002); Williams v. Khalaf, 802 S.W.2d 651, 658 (Tex. 1990); Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 912 n. 2 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). A cause of action for fraud accrues on the date that the defendant makes the allegedly false representations.
The issue before this court on interlocutory appeal is not whether venue for the original lawsuit is properly set in Duval County but whether the appellees were entitled to join that lawsuit. See Teco-Westinghouse Motor Co. v. Gonzalez, 54 S.W.3d 910, 912 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). DISCUSSION