Humble Exploration Co., Inc. v. Walker

641 S.W.2d 941, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 5177
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 30, 1982
Docket05-82-00879-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 641 S.W.2d 941 (Humble Exploration Co., Inc. v. Walker) 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
Humble Exploration Co., Inc. v. Walker, 641 S.W.2d 941, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 5177 (Tex. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinions

WHITHAM, Justice.

Humble Exploration Company, Inc., as relator, seeks a writ of prohibition against the Honorable Dee Brown Walker, Judge of the 162nd Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, prohibiting the trial court from taking certain action in a temporary receivership of Humble which this court vacated on June 18, 1982. Our disposition of that matter and the nature of the dispute out of which this petition for writ of prohibition arose may be found in our opinion in Humble Exploration Co. v. Fairway Land Company, 641 S.W.2d 934 (Tex.App.1982). We conclude that the writ of pro[943]*943hibition is necessary to protect and enforce the jurisdiction of this court with respect to the temporary receivership of Humble. Accordingly, the writ of prohibition shall issue with respect to the temporary receivership of Humble.

Sterling Pipeline Company, Inc. and Pat S. Holloway, individually, as relators, seek a writ of prohibition against the Honorable Dee Brown Walker, Judge of the 162nd Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, prohibiting the trial court from taking certain action in a temporary receivership appointed for each of these two rela-tors. Appeals from the appointment of temporary receivers of Sterling and Holloway are still pending in this court and such appointments have not been vacated by this court. Accordingly, the petitions for writs of prohibition of Sterling and Holloway are denied.

Under Tex. Const, art. V § 6 and Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 1823 (Vernon 1964), this court has jurisdiction to issue writs of prohibition to protect its jurisdiction. The writ of prohibition is an extraordinary judicial writ that may be issued by a Court of Appeals as a court of superior jurisdiction, directed to a court of inferior jurisdiction. The writ should only issue with the greatest of caution. Its purpose may be to prevent an inferior tribunal from exercising a jurisdiction which it has no lawful right to exercise. Staples v. State, 244 S.W. 1064 (Tex.Civ.App. — Dallas 1922, no writ), conforming to Supreme Court’s answer to certified question in Staples v. State, 112 Tex. 61, 245 S.W. 639 (Tex.1922); Smith v. Grievance Committee, State Bar of Texas For Dist. 14-A, 475 S.W.2d 396 (Tex.Civ.App. — Corpus Christi 1972, no writ). The writ of prohibition as used in Texas has three principal functions: (1) preventing interference with the higher courts in deciding a pending appeal; (2) preventing an inferior court from entertaining suits which will relitigate controversies which have already been settled by the issuing court; and (3) prohibiting a trial court’s action when it affirmatively appears that the court lacks jurisdiction. Smith v. Griev-anee Committee, State Bar of Texas For Dist. 14-A, supra. The present proceeding requires consideration of the third function — the absence of jurisdiction of the trial court.

Under the facts of the present proceedings we must first decide when our order vacating the receivership became effective. If our order became effective immediately, even though not final, then the trial court was without jurisdiction to continue the receivership following our order. At this time our mandate in Humble Exploration Co. v. Fairway Land Company, supra, has not issued. At oral argument Judge Walker conceded that following our order vacating the receivership of Humble, the then existing receivership of Humble had continued in operation after our order and was in operation at the time of oral argument. Humble contends that our order vacating the receivership of Humble operated instanter. The parties opposing issuance of the writ contend that our order vacating the receivership is not yet effective, absent the issuance of our mandate. We conclude that our order vacating the receivership operated instanter. We hold, therefore, that the trial court was without jurisdiction to continue the receivership following our order. After our order, all that remained for the trial court to do was to conduct the necessary proceedings to discharge the receiver.

We arrive at our holding by analogy to appellate orders dissolving temporary injunctions on appeal. An order dissolving a temporary injunction is effective immediately even though not final. Poole v. Giles, 151 Tex. 224, 248 S.W.2d 464 (1952) citing Alpha Petroleum Co. v. Terrell, 122 Tex. 257, 59 S.W.2d 372 (1933); Duncan v. Boyd, 288 S.W. 281 (Tex.Civ.App. — Austin 1926, no writ). Duncan addressed the issue as follows:

The only question in the case is whether a judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals, dissolving a temporary injunction of the trial court, operates instanter.
* ⅜ * * * ⅜
[944]*944When such appeal is perfected, the jurisdiction of the trial court determines and that of the appellate court attaches. No further orders in the matter can be made by the trial court pending the appeal.
* * * * * *
It would seem necessarily to follow from this holding that the orders of the appellate court, affecting the injunctive relief granted or denied by the trial court, should be effective immediately. ... [Tjhere ought to repose in some tribunal the continuing power over the subject matter. Since the appeal divests the trial court of all jurisdiction in the matter, and transfers that jurisdiction to the appellate court, the latter, in order to make the relief effective, should have the same power as the trial court originally had, and its orders and decrees should have the same effect.... Duncan v. Boyd, 288 S.W. at 282.

In adopting Duncan the Supreme Court in Alpha Petroleum Co. stated:

“We are of the opinion that, when the Court of Civil Appeals at Beaumont entered its final order and decree dissolving the temporary injunction granted in this cause by the district court of Montgomery County, Tex., such order and decree of dissolution so entered by the Court of Civil Appeals became effective at once, and therefore no injunction has been in effect protecting the Alpha Petroleum Company from the proration orders of the Commission since the date of the dissolution thereof by the Court of Civil Appeals. Duncan v. Boyd (Tex.Civ.App.) 288 S.W. 281.”
Alpha Petroleum Co. v. Terrell, 59 S.W.2d at 373.

Since an order of an appellate court dissolving a temporary injunction is effective immediately even though not final, we see no reason why an order of an appellate court vacating the more drastic remedy of a temporary receivership should not also be effective immediately, even though not final. It is just as important that a party, over whose property a receiver is improperly appointed, instanter have back his property from the hands of the court as it is that a party improperly enjoined, instanter must no longer conduct his affairs as ordered by a court. The need for an immediate end to judicial interference, be it by injunction or receivership, is the same under both circumstances and is compelling of the same instanter relief.

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Bluebook (online)
641 S.W.2d 941, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 5177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/humble-exploration-co-inc-v-walker-texapp-1982.