In Re Thomas Rheman v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: December 30, 2024
• Docket: 13-24-00570-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

NUMBER 13-24-00570-CV

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG

IN RE THOMAS RHEMAN

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Benavides and Tijerina Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Contreras1

By petition for writ of mandamus filed in the above-referenced cause number,

relator Thomas Rheman contends that the trial court abused its discretion by granting a

motion to expunge his amended notice of lis pendens. See TEX. PROP. CODE ANN.

§ 12.007 (governing lis pendens regarding real property). In a separate appeal in our

cause number 13-23-00579, Rheman appeals a judgment denying his bill of review

1 See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.8(d) (“When denying relief, the court may hand down an opinion but is not

required to do so. When granting relief, the court must hand down an opinion as in any other case.”); id. R. 47.4 (distinguishing opinions and memorandum opinions). seeking to set aside a default judgment rendered against him in a divorce proceeding.

The ownership of the real property subject to the lis pendens in this original proceeding

is at issue in the underlying divorce. By separate memorandum opinion issued this same

date, this Court reversed the judgment denying Rheman’s bill of review and remanded

the case for further proceedings. See Rheman v. Rheman, No. 13-23-00579-CV, 2024

WL _____, at *_ (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg December 30, 2024, no pet. h.)

(mem. op.).

The Court, having examined and fully considered the petition for writ of mandamus,

the response filed by real party in interest Deborah Rheman n/k/a Debora Sibley, and the

applicable law, is of the opinion that this original proceeding has been rendered moot by

our resolution of the appeal. See In re Contract Freighters, Inc., 646 S.W.3d 810, 813

(Tex. 2022) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam); Heckman v. Williamson County, 369 S.W.3d

137, 162 (Tex. 2012); In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d 732, 737 (Tex. 2005)

(orig. proceeding). Accordingly, we dismiss this petition for writ of mandamus as moot.

DORI CONTRERAS Chief Justice

Delivered and filed on the 30th day of December, 2024.