Alee Pence, Lauren Trommer, and Shaun Belcher v. Carrie Valk A/N/F of G.W.B.V.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: October 25, 2023
• Docket: 05-23-00641-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

DISMISS and Opinion Filed October 25, 2023

S In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-23-00641-CV

ALEE PENCE, LAUREN TROMMER, AND SHAUN BELCHER, Appellants V. CARRIE VALK A/N/F OF G.W.B.V., Appellee

On Appeal from the 439th Judicial District Court Rockwall County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1-23-0428

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Pedersen, III, and Justice Goldstein Opinion by Chief Justice Burns This appeal challenges the trial court’s order granting appellee’s verified

petition to take the pre-suit depositions of appellants, her son’s former teacher and

two of her son’s former special education paraprofessionals.1 See TEX. R. CIV. P.

202. Because the order is not appealable, we dismiss the appeal for want of

jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).

1 Appellee also sought to depose the school district’s director of human services, but the trial court denied the petition as to him. BACKGROUND

Appellee filed the petition after her son, a child with Down Syndrome, began

coming home from school soiled and began “fussing” about going to school, and

after she watched a video of her son in the classroom being mistreated “at the hands

of his previous teacher” and by his classmates, who were being encouraged by a

paraprofessional to kick him. As reflected in the record, appellee sought to depose

appellants to investigate potential claims against the school district; school district

employees, both within and outside their scope of employment; and third parties.

Among the specific claims she sought to investigate were whether any school staff

(1) engaged in discriminatory behavior, (2) assaulted or caused any third party to

assault her son, and (3) acted in concert with each other or third parties to conceal

their misconduct. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the petition as to

appellants.

DISCUSSION

It is well-settled that an appeal may be taken only from final orders that

dispose of all parties and claims or interlocutory orders as authorized by statute. See

Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). An order on a petition

for pre-suit deposition is final and appealable if the deposition is sought from

someone against whom suit is not anticipated, as the order disposes of the only issue

between the parties—discovery. In re Jorden, 249 S.W.3d 416, 419 (Tex. 2008)

(orig. proceeding); IFS Sec. Grp., Inc. v. Am. Equity Ins. Co., 175 S.W.3d 560, 562

–2– (Tex. App.—Dallas 2005, no pet.). If the deposition is sought from an anticipated

defendant, the order is deemed ancillary to the subsequent suit and is neither final

nor otherwise appealable. In re Jorden, 249 S.W.3d at 419.

Because it appeared from the record that appellants are anticipated defendants,

we questioned our jurisdiction over the appeal. At our direction, appellants filed a

letter brief,2 but nothing in the letter brief demonstrates our jurisdiction.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a); In re Jorden, 249

S.W.3d at 419.

/Robert D. Burns, III/ ROBERT D. BURNS, III 230641F.P05 CHIEF JUSTICE

2 Appellants also filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the event we determined the order was not appealable. See In re Jorden, 249 S.W.3d at 419. The petition was docketed cause number 05-23-00817- CV.

–3– S Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas JUDGMENT

ALEE PENCE, LAUREN On Appeal from the 439th Judicial TROMMER, AND SHAUN District Court, Rockwall County, BELCHER, Appellants Texas No. 05-23-00641-CV V. Trial Court Cause No. 1-23-0428. Opinion delivered by Chief Justice CARRIE VALK A/N/F OF Burns, Justices Pedersen, III and G.W.B.V., Appellee Goldstein participating.

In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal.

We ORDER that appellee Carrie Valk a/n/f of G.W.B.V. recover her costs, if any, of this appeal from appellants Alee Pence, Lauren Trommer, and Shaun Belcher.

Judgment entered October 25, 2023.

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