Aguilar v. Morales

545 S.W.3d 670
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 18, 2017
DocketNo. 08–15–00098–CV
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 545 S.W.3d 670 (Aguilar v. Morales) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aguilar v. Morales, 545 S.W.3d 670 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice *674This is an appeal from an order granting Margaret and Jesus Morales' Rule 91a motion to dismiss Anthony and Michael Aguilars' wrongful death action filed in the 205th District Court of El Paso County. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Anthony and Michael Aguilar (the Aguilars) filed a wrongful death suit against their sister, Margaret Morales, and brother-in-law, Jesus Morales (the Moraleses) in the 205th District Court of El Paso County on August 12, 2013. In their original petition, the Aguilars asserted that the Moraleses killed their mother, Alvilda Aguilar (Alvilda), when they drove her from San Antonio to El Paso for her late husband's funeral, and then back to San Antonio.1 The original petition discussed the disruption in Alvilda's daily routine that arose as a result of her travels as well as the assertion that the Moraleses owed Alvilda a legal duty to maintain and assist her because Alvilda and her husband, Ramiro, provided housing, money, and other benefits to the Moraleses. The Moraleses were served on August 14, 2013.

On September 4, 2013, Margaret, individually and as Independent Executor of Alvilda's estate, moved to have the case transferred to Probate Court No. Two in Bexar County which was currently administering Alvilda's estate. The next day, the probate court granted the motion. The Moraleses filed their answer to the Aguilars' original petition on September 6, 2013, and on October 4, 2013, subsequently filed a Rule 91a motion to dismiss, asserting that the Aguilars' action had no basis in law or fact. The Bexar County Probate Court granted the motion to dismiss on October 29, 2013.

The Aguilars appealed the transfer of their wrongful death action and the order granting the motion to the Fourth Court of Appeals. The court explained that because Margaret was sued in her individual capacity and the lawsuit alleged only a wrongful death cause of action, the causes of action asserted in the El Paso County lawsuit were not "related to [the] probate proceeding" as the phrase is defined in the Texas Estates Code. Moreover, the court highlighted the fact that Margaret was not a party to the lawsuit in her capacity as independent executrix of Alvilda's estate. Accordingly, the appellate court concluded that the Bexar County Probate Court erred in granting the motion to transfer venue. It reversed and rendered judgment denying the motion to transfer. It then clarified that nothing in its opinion precluded the Moraleses from filing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a in the El Paso trial court.

The Bexar County Probate Court signed its order transferring the case back to the El Paso trial court on November 17, 2014, and on January 14, 2015, the Moraleses again moved to dismiss the case under Rule 91a. The El Paso trial court held a hearing on February 18, 2015, and requested that the parties submit additional briefing on the issue. On March 23, 2014, the El Paso trial court granted the Morales' motion and this appeal follows.

The Aguilars raise thirteen issues on appeal. For purposes of this appeal, we are adopting the Morales' organizational approach, grouping the Aguilars' thirteen issues *675into three categories: (1) the timeliness of the filing of the motion to dismiss (Issues One, Two, Three, Four, and Thirteen)(Group One); (2) whether the trial court erred in granting the Morales' motion to dismiss (Issues Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Ten, and Eleven)(Group Two); and (3) whether the trial court had the authority to grant the motion more than 45 days after it was filed (Issues Nine, Twelve, and Thirteen)(Group Three).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Rule 91a permits a party to move to dismiss a cause of action on the ground that it has no basis in law or fact. See TEX.R.CIV.P. 91a.1. As specified in the rule:

A cause of action has no basis in law if the allegations, taken as true, together with inferences reasonably drawn from them, do not entitle the claimant to the relief sought. Id. A cause of action has no basis in fact if no reasonable person could believe the facts pleaded.

Id. A motion to dismiss must identify each cause of action to which it is addressed and must state specifically the reasons the cause of action has no basis in law, no basis in fact, or both. TEX.R.CIV.P. 91a.2. The trial court may not consider evidence in ruling on the motion and must decide the motion based solely on the pleading of the cause of action, together with any exhibits permitted by Rule 59.2 TEX.R.CIV.P. 91a.6.

We generally review a trial court's ruling on a motion to dismiss in other contexts for abuse of discretion; however, we review de novo the trial court's ruling on a question of law. See , e.g. , Nexion Health at Beechnut, Inc. v. Paul , 335 S.W.3d 716, 718 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (applying de novo standard to review motion to dismiss in healthcare liability case when issue was whether service had been effected properly); Singleton v. Casteel , 267 S.W.3d 547, 550 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) (applying de novo standard to review motion to dismiss to determine whether official immunity applied under Texas Tort Claims Act); Harris County Hosp. Dist. v. Textac Partners I , 257 S.W.3d 303, 315 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.) (applying summary judgment standard to review motion to dismiss that addressed claims on merits). While we acknowledge that the determination of whether a cause of action has a basis in law is, on its face, a question of law, see GoDaddy.com, LLC v. Toups , 429 S.W.3d 752, 754 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2014, pet. denied), the language of Rule 91a is less clear as to the determination of whether a cause of action has a basis in fact-in which case "no reasonable person could believe the facts pleaded"-is a question of law. TEX.R.CIV.P. 91a.1.

Although we acknowledge that Rule 91a motions to dismiss are unique, we find them to be analogous to pleas to the jurisdiction, which require a court to determine whether the pleader has alleged facts demonstrating jurisdiction. See Tex. Dep't of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda , 133 S.W.3d 217, 225-26 (Tex. 2004).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Terri Blevins v. Beverly Brown
Tex. App. Ct., 7th Dist. (Amarillo), 2026
Davenport v. Bonini
E.D. Texas, 2024
Gloria G. Flores v. Bank of America, N.A.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Noel Life v. Gino Morena Enterprises, LLC
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Heidi Frankel v. Jake Butler
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
Maricela Wilson v. City of Austin
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Jodi Strobach v. WesTex Community Credit Union
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
545 S.W.3d 670, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aguilar-v-morales-texapp-2017.