In Re Patricia Ann Potts v. the State of Texas

Tex. App. Ct., 1st Dist. (Houston)

In Re Patricia Ann Potts v. the State of Texas

Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)·Decided August 11, 2026·No. 01-26-00786-CV·Published

Opinion

Opinion issued August 11, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

numbers, including trial court cause number 1269858, pending in the County Civil Court at Law No. 5 of Harris County, Texas. However, relator failed to provide a mandamus record or appendix of any kind, including, but not limited to, a mandamus record or appendix containing any “pending emergency motions” which she alleges the respondent trial court has refused to rule. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.3(l)(1), 52.7(a)(1).

Additionally, as noted above, relator has been declared a vexatious litigant and is subject to a pre-filing order. The Clerk of this Court may not file an original proceeding in a civil matter presented by a vexatious litigant subject to a pre-filing order unless: (1) the relator first obtains an order from the local administrative judge permitting the filing or (2) the relator is appealing from a pre-filing order declaring her a vexatious litigant. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 11.103(a), (d). Relator’s petition for writ of mandamus does not challenge the order declaring her a vexatious litigant, nor has relator provided any indication that she obtained permission prior to filing this original proceeding.

Accordingly, we conclude that we lack jurisdiction to grant the mandamus relief requested by relator. We therefore dismiss relator’s petition for writ of mandamus for lack of jurisdiction. We dismiss any pending motions as moot.

identifies the respondent as the Honorable Jermaine Thomas, the presiding judge of the County Civil Court at Law No. 5 of Harris County, Texas.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Caughey, Johnson, Dokupil.

Footnotes

NO. 01-26-00786-CV ——————————— IN RE PATRICIA ANN POTTS, Relator Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus MEMORANDUM OPINION Relator, Patricia Ann Potts, a vexatious litigant subject to a pre-filing order, and proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of mandamus alleging that the trial court had failed to perform its ministerial duty “to rule on [r]elator’s pending emergency motions.”1 Relator’s petition identified three separate lower court cause 1 Relator’s petition for writ of mandamus fails to meet the requirements of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure by failing to identify the real party/parties in interest to the original proceeding and failing to identify the parties served with her original proceeding. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.5(e), 52.3(b). The petition for writ of mandamus

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

Opinion issued August 11, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

numbers, including trial court cause number 1269858, pending in the County Civil Court at Law No. 5 of Harris County, Texas. However, relator failed to provide a mandamus record or appendix of any kind, including, but not limited to, a mandamus record or appendix containing any “pending emergency motions” which she alleges the respondent trial court has refused to rule. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.3(l)(1), 52.7(a)(1).

Additionally, as noted above, relator has been declared a vexatious litigant and is subject to a pre-filing order. The Clerk of this Court may not file an original proceeding in a civil matter presented by a vexatious litigant subject to a pre-filing order unless: (1) the relator first obtains an order from the local administrative judge permitting the filing or (2) the relator is appealing from a pre-filing order declaring her a vexatious litigant. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 11.103(a), (d). Relator’s petition for writ of mandamus does not challenge the order declaring her a vexatious litigant, nor has relator provided any indication that she obtained permission prior to filing this original proceeding.

Accordingly, we conclude that we lack jurisdiction to grant the mandamus relief requested by relator. We therefore dismiss relator’s petition for writ of mandamus for lack of jurisdiction. We dismiss any pending motions as moot.

identifies the respondent as the Honorable Jermaine Thomas, the presiding judge of the County Civil Court at Law No. 5 of Harris County, Texas.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Caughey, Johnson, Dokupil.

Footnotes

NO. 01-26-00786-CV ——————————— IN RE PATRICIA ANN POTTS, Relator Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus MEMORANDUM OPINION Relator, Patricia Ann Potts, a vexatious litigant subject to a pre-filing order, and proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of mandamus alleging that the trial court had failed to perform its ministerial duty “to rule on [r]elator’s pending emergency motions.”1 Relator’s petition identified three separate lower court cause 1 Relator’s petition for writ of mandamus fails to meet the requirements of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure by failing to identify the real party/parties in interest to the original proceeding and failing to identify the parties served with her original proceeding. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.5(e), 52.3(b). The petition for writ of mandamus

In Re Patricia Ann Potts v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2026).

Pincite

In Re Patricia Ann Potts v. the State of Texas (In Re Patricia Ann Potts v. the State of Texas) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.