In Re: Auto Club County Mutual Insurance Company & Brittany Burks v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 24, 2024
• Docket: 05-24-00867-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

DENIED and Opinion Filed July 24, 2024

S In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-24-00867-CV

IN RE AUTO CLUB COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY & BRITTANY BURKS, Relators

Original Proceeding from the County Court at Law No. 3 Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. CC-18-05739-C

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Justices Partida-Kipness, Nowell, and Miskel Opinion by Justice Partida-Kipness Before the Court are relators’ July 22, 2024 petition for writ of mandamus and

July 23, 2024 emergency motion for temporary relief. In their petition, relators

challenge the trial court’s September 21, 2023 order denying their motion to sever

and abate. In their emergency motion, relators seek to stay all trial court proceedings,

including the trial specially set for July 29, 2024, pending our action on the petition.

A relator who delays seeking mandamus relief, even a delay of only a few

months, may waive the right to mandamus unless the relator can justify the delay.

In re Barnes, No. 05-22-00312-CV, 2022 WL 1955754, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas

June 3, 2022, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.). Based on the petition and the record before us, relators waited until the eve of trial and over ten months from the

challenged ruling before seeking mandamus relief. Relators offered no explanation

for the delay, thereby waiving any entitlement to mandamus relief.

Accordingly, we deny the petition for writ of mandamus. See TEX. R. APP. P.

52.8(a). Having denied relators’ petition, we also deny relators’ emergency motion

as moot.

/Robbie Partida-Kipness/ ROBBIE PARTIDA-KIPNESS 240867F.P05 JUSTICE

–2–