Opinion
No. 06-12-00029-CV
03-13-2012
TITUS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, Appellant v. MARIA CERVANTES, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT FRIEND OF ALEK GONZALEZ, ET AL., Appellees
On Appeal from the 276th Judicial District Court
Titus County, Texas
Trial Court No. 35,429
Before Morriss, C.J., Carter and Moseley, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Morriss
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Titus Regional Medical Center, filed a notice of appeal November 4, 2011, appealing "the Court's order denying Defendant's Plea to the Jurisdiction, signed on October 15, 2011 by the Honorable Joe M. Leonard, 76th/276th Judicial District Court, Titus County, Texas."
On November 28, 2011, we mailed a letter to appellants' counsel requesting that they show this Court how there is appellate jurisdiction over this appeal. In that letter, we advised appellants' counsel that the clerk's record contains an order signed by Judge Leonard on October 15, 2011, which indicates that "It is hereby ordered that Defendant's Objections to Plaintiff's C.P.R.C. Section 74.351 (a) timely [sic] expert reports of Paul D. Gatewood, M.D. and Robert Atlas, M.D., and Motion to Dismiss and for Sanctions Pursuant to C.P.R.C. § 74.351 is Denied." We advised counsel this order does not purport to deny Titus Regional Medical Center's plea to the jurisdiction and thus does not appear to be an appealable interlocutory order. We requested that counsel show the Court how we have jurisdiction over this appeal, including the filing of a supplemental record, if necessary.
On December 5, 2011, a supplemental clerk's record was filed at the request of Titus Regional Medical Center, in response to our defect letter of November 28, 2011. While the supplemental record so filed contains a notice from Judge Leonard dated October 15, 2011, it does not include an order denying appellant's plea to the jurisdiction. Since December 5, 2011, this Court has not received an order purporting to deny appellant's plea to the jurisdiction.
On February 22, 2012, appellees filed a motion to dismiss Titus Regional Medical Center's appeal for want of jurisdiction. Because this Court, after having advised appellant of a defect in the jurisdiction, has not received a final judgment or appealable interlocutory order giving appellant the right to bring this appeal, this Court grants appellees' motion to dismiss. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001) (appellate court has jurisdiction to review final judgments and certain interlocutory orders identified by statute).
We dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Josh R. Morriss, III
Chief Justice