in Re KHOU-TV, Inc., William Langlois and Hearst Newspapers LLC D/B/A Houston Chronicle

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 30, 2019
• Docket: 14-19-00398-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed May 30, 2019.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-19-00398-CV

IN RE KHOU-TV, INC., WILLIAM LANGLOIS AND HEARST NEWSPAPERS LLC D/B/A HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Relators

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 164th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2016-51529

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On May 13, 2019, relators KHOU-TV, Inc., William Langlois, and Hearst Newspapers LLC D/B/A Houston Chronicle filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221 (Supp.); see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relators asks this court to compel the Honorable Steven Kirkland, presiding judge of the 334th District Court of Harris County, to vacate the April 22, 2019 order he entered in the underlying action on behalf of the 164th District Court of Harris County, which ruled that relators’ motions to dismiss under section 27.003 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code was denied by operation of law, and alternatively stated that the motions to dismiss are denied on the merits.

To obtain mandamus relief, a relator generally must show both that the trial court clearly abused its discretion and that relator has no adequate remedy at law, such as an appeal. In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 148 S.W.3d 124, 135–36 (Tex. 2004) (orig. proceeding); In re Garza, 544 S.W.3d 836, 840 (Tex. 2018) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam). Relators have not shown that they are entitled to mandamus relief.

We therefore deny relators’ petition for writ of mandamus.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Wise, Jewell, and Hassan.