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Town of Highland Park v. McCullers

Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
May 18, 2021
No. 05-19-01431-CV (Tex. App. May. 18, 2021)

Opinion

No. 05-19-01431-CV

05-18-2021

TOWN OF HIGHLAND PARK, Appellant v. TIFFANY RENEE MCCULLERS, ET AL., Appellees


On Appeal from the 191st Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-18-08709

ORDER

Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Pedersen, III, and Justice Goldstein

We determined our jurisdiction over this appeal from the associate judge's ("AJ") order denying appellant's plea to the jurisdiction prior to this Court's determination of Hull v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 05-20-00731-CV, 2021 WL 152900 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 26, 2021, no pet.). In Hull, we construed Texas Government Code chapter 54A, subchapter B, which governs the appointment and use of AJs in civil cases, and concluded that, when a party has first sought review of the AJ's order by the referring court, the appellate timetable does not begin to run until a judgment has been signed by the referring court. See id. at *1-2.

In light of Hull, we now conclude this appeal is premature. Although we could dismiss for want of jurisdiction, we conclude, on the facts before us, that the parties should be allowed an opportunity to obtain an order on appellant's plea, signed by the referring court.

The record reflects appellant sought review of the AJ's order by way of an appeal to the referring court. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 54A.111. Accordingly, any order shall follow a trial de novo on the issue(s) specified in the appeal. See id. § 54A.111(e). Any order shall be signed within thirty days of the date of this order.

We ORDER Dallas County District Clerk Felicia Pitre to file, no later than June 21, 2021, either a supplemental clerk's record containing a copy of the referring court's order or written verification no order was signed. We further ORDER Melba Wright, Official Court Reporter for the 191st Judicial District Court to file, no later than June 21, 2021, a supplemental reporter's record of any hearing held pursuant to this order.

We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Gena Slaughter, Presiding Judge of the 191st Judicial District Court; Ms. Pitre; Ms. Wright; and, the parties.

We ABATE the appeal to allow the parties an opportunity to have appellant's appeal determined and a written order signed. The appeal shall be reinstated no later than June 25, 2021 and is subject to dismissal without further notice should an order not be signed by the referring court. See Hull, 2021 WL 1152900, at *1-2.

/s/ BILL PEDERSEN, III

JUSTICE


Summaries of

Town of Highland Park v. McCullers

Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
May 18, 2021
No. 05-19-01431-CV (Tex. App. May. 18, 2021)
Case details for

Town of Highland Park v. McCullers

Case Details

Full title:TOWN OF HIGHLAND PARK, Appellant v. TIFFANY RENEE MCCULLERS, ET AL.…

Court:Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas

Date published: May 18, 2021

Citations

No. 05-19-01431-CV (Tex. App. May. 18, 2021)