In Re Quintilya Thomas v. the State of Texas

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS EL PASO, TEXAS ————————————

No. 08-26-00120-CV ————————————

In re Quintilya Thomas

AN ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN MANDAMUS

M E MO RA N D UM O PI NI O N Pending before the Court is Relator’s emergency motion for temporary relief and stay

pending mandamus, in which she requests that this Court immediately stay enforcement of default

temporary orders allegedly entered by the 388th District Court. Because the motion is not

accompanied by a petition, we dismiss the motion for want of jurisdiction.

To commence an original appellate proceeding seeking extraordinary relief, a relator must

file a petition with the clerk of the appellate court. Tex. R. App. P. 52.1. Once the original

proceeding has commenced, a party may seek temporary relief pending the court’s action on the petition. Tex. R. App. P. 52.10(a), (b). Although Rule 52.10(b) authorizes this Court to grant

temporary relief, it implicitly requires a petition to invoke our jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P.

52.10(b); see also In re Hicks, 524 S.W.3d 307 (Tex. App.—Waco 2016, orig. proceeding) (finding

an emergency motion filed without a petition to be “premature” and dismissing the motion); In re

Kelleher, 999 S.W.2d 51, 52 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 1999, orig. proceeding) (“Implicit within this

rule is the need for a petition to be filed before the court can grant emergency relief.”); In re

Nonamé, No. 03-25-00937-CV, 2025 WL 3491569, at *1 (Tex. App.—Austin Dec. 5, 2025, orig.

proceeding) (mem. op.) (dismissing for want of jurisdiction a motion for temporary relief without

a petition).

Because Relator has not commenced an original proceeding, we lack jurisdiction over her

motion seeking emergency relief. We dismiss the motion for want of jurisdiction without prejudice

to refiling after a petition for writ of mandamus has been filed.

MARIA SALAS MENDOZA, Chief Justice

March 20, 2026

Before Salas Mendoza, C.J., Palafox and Soto, JJ.