Paselk v. Rabun

293 S.W.3d 600, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 4266, 2009 WL 1658089
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 16, 2009
Docket06-08-00093-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by96 cases

This text of 293 S.W.3d 600 (Paselk v. Rabun) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Paselk v. Rabun, 293 S.W.3d 600, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 4266, 2009 WL 1658089 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice CARTER.

Carol Paselk, proceeding pro se, 1 appeals the final judgment awarding $100,000.00 in attorney’s fees to David and Pat Rabun. Paselk and Reynolds filed suit August 23, 2005, against the Rabuns for negligence, nuisance, trespass, gross negligence, and negligence per se. Paselk and Reynolds alleged the dairy farm owned and operated by the Rabuns discharged approximately “90,000 gallons of thick, brown, sludgy toxic, dairy lagoon effluent” onto their horse ranch causing the death of numerous horses and significant property damage. The Rabuns denied the allegations and filed a cross-claim for attorney’s fees under Section 251.004 of the Texas Agriculture Code. See Tex. Agric. Code Ajw. § 251.004 (Vernon 2004).

During the course of the litigation, Paselk and Reynolds violated several discovery orders. Eventually, the trial court issued an order limiting Paselk and Reynolds to a single expert witness and barring any recovery on undocumented horses. 2 Over two years after the filing of the lawsuit, the trial court granted a partial summary judgment in favor of the Rabuns on claims for loss of horses. After numerous continuances, the trial court ordered jury selection to begin May 19, 2008. *605 On April 23, 2008, Paselk filed a document titled “Plaintiffs Motion For Dismissal Without Prejudice,” which will be referred to as a nonsuit in the remainder of this opinion. 3 The Rabuns filed a motion to dismiss Reynolds’ claims for want of prosecution which the trial court set for a hearing on May 19, 2008 — the same day that jury selection was scheduled to begin.

When neither Paselk nor Reynolds appeared at the setting for jury selection, the Rabuns waived their right to a jury trial and the trial court conducted a bench trial on the counterclaim. The trial court dismissed Reynolds’ claims for want of prosecution, signed a final judgment awarding $100,000.00 in attorney’s fees to the Rabuns, 4 and severed the claims disposed of by partial summary judgment. 5 The severed claims were assigned a different cause number. Paselk filed, on June 18, 2008, a motion for new trial and a motion to reinstate the dismissed claims. 6 The trial court held a hearing on the motions August 1, 2008. The motions were overruled by operation of law August 2, 2008. 7 See Tex.R. Civ. P. 329b(c). On August 18, 2008, Paselk filed a notice of appeal. 8

On appeal, Paselk and Reynolds raise six points of error. We will first address the jurisdictional issues presented by this case. Because Reynolds failed to file a notice of appeal, this court lacks jurisdiction over Reynolds. However, we do have jurisdiction over the partial summary judgment which was severed from this case because Paselk’s notice of appeal was a bona fide attempt to appeal the severed case. We conclude the trial court did not err in granting the partial summary judgment and did not err in failing to give Paselk notice before signing the *606 dismissal based on her nonsuit. Finally, Paselk has failed to show the trial court committed reversible error in signing the final judgment in favor of the Rabuns. We dismiss Reynolds’ appeal for want of jurisdiction and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I. This Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Reynolds

The Rabuns argue that this Court lacks jurisdiction over Reynolds because Reynolds failed to file a notice of appeal. We agree. While the notice of appeal purports to appeal Reynolds’ claims as well as Paselk’s claims, the notice was only signed by Paselk. Although a layperson has the right to represent themselves, a layperson does not have the right to represent others. Jimison by Parker v. Mann, 957 S.W.2d 860, 861 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 1997, no pet.). While Paselk could represent herself pro se, Paselk could not act as an attorney for Reynolds. Paselk had no authority to file a notice of appeal on Reynolds’ behalf. Therefore, the record contains no notice of appeal filed by Reynolds. This Court lacks jurisdiction over Reynolds. We dismiss Reynolds’ appeal for want of jurisdiction.

II. Paselk’s Notice of Appeal Was a Bona Fide Attempt to Appeal the Severed Claims

At various locations in her brief, Paselk complains about the partial summary judgment. The Rabuns argue the partial summary judgment cannot be appealed because the partial summary judgment was severed, and Paselk failed to file a separate notice of appeal. When the partial summary judgment was severed it was assigned the separate cause number of CV36628A. Paselk’s notice of appeal, filed on August 18, 2008, specifically states she is appealing from the original cause number of CV36628.

The Texas Supreme Court has held that alleging an “incorrect cause number on its notice of appeal does not defeat the jurisdiction of the court of appeals” if the instrument is a bona fide attempt to invoke appellate court jurisdiction. San Antonio v. Rodriguez, 828 S.W.2d 417, 418 (Tex.1992). The notice of appeal specifically provides Paselk was attempting to appeal the “Order Granting Defendant’s Motion To Sever signed May 19, 2008.” We conclude the notice of appeal in this case was a bona fide attempt to invoke our jurisdiction over the partial summary judgment that had been severed.

We note that the motion for new trial — which extended the appellate deadline — was only filed under the original cause number rather than the severed cause number. In Philbrook v. Berry, the Texas Supreme Court held that a motion for new trial which was filed in the wrong cause number “did not operate to extend the court’s plenary power over its judgment beyond the thirty days.” 683 S.W.2d 378, 379 (Tex.1985). While the Texas Supreme Court has yet to explicitly overrule Philbrook, “the Texas Supreme Court has all but expressly overruled the decision.” Leal v. City of Rosenberg, 17 S.W.3d 385, 386 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2000, no pet.) (concluding motion for new trial filed in wrong cause number extended appellate deadlines); McRoberis v. Ryals, 863 S.W.2d 450, 454-55 (Tex.1993) (distinguishing Philbrook when severed cause was never assigned cause number because counsel “faced the impossible dilemma of having to timely file his motion for new trial under a nonexistent cause number”); see Rodriguez, 828 S.W.2d at 418 (incorrectly transcribed cause number does not deprive court of appeals of jurisdiction if it “is a *607 bona fide attempt to invoke appellate jurisdiction”).

In Blankenship v. Robins, 878 S.W.2d 138, 138-39 (Tex.1994), the motion for new trial was filed in the severed cause number rather than the original.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
293 S.W.3d 600, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 4266, 2009 WL 1658089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paselk-v-rabun-texapp-2009.