Rosa Ena Cantu v. Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 9, 2015
Docket03-15-00017-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Rosa Ena Cantu v. Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery (Rosa Ena Cantu v. Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery) 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
Rosa Ena Cantu v. Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery, (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

ACCEPTED 03-15-00017-CV 4080612 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 2/9/2015 4:54:16 PM JEFFREY D. KYLE CLERK CASE NO. 03-15-00017-CV

FILED IN IN THE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS 3rd COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 2/9/2015 4:54:16 PM AUSTIN, TEXAS JEFFREY D. KYLE Clerk

Rose Ena Cantu, Appellant v. Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery, Appellees

On Appeal from the 21St Judicial District Court Bastrop County, Texas Hon. Carson Campbell

Motion to Strike the Notice of Appeal, Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, and Award Costs

To THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:

Appellees Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery ask the Court to

dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction and award Appellees their fees for filing

this motion.

1. Appellees are Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery;

Appellant is Rose Ena Cantu.

2. The 21st Judicial District Court of Bastrop County, Texas, signed the

interlocutory order dismissing Appellant Cantu's claims against Appellees on December 10, 2014, in Cause No. 29,358; Cantu et al. v. Texas Southern Insurance

Company, et al. A copy of that order is attached hereto as Exhibit "A."

3. This Court has authority to dismiss an appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a). The Court should dismiss this appeal because the order

being appealed is a non-appealable interlocutory order. See City of Houston v.

Kilburn, 849 S.W.2d 810, 811 (Tex. 1993). In its order dismissing Cantu's

claims, the trial court did not order severance of those claims from the claims of

the remaining plaintiffs. In addition, Appellees Southern and Dollery had a

pending counterclaim against Cantu, which was not resolved by the interlocutory

December 10, 2014 order. A file-stamped copy of Southern's and Dollery's First

Amended Answer and Counterclaim, filed November 17, 2014, is attached hereto

as Exhibit "B ."

4. Appellees ask that the Court award them their costs for this frivolous

appeal. See Tex. R. App. P 45; Johnson v. Johnson, 948 S.W.2d 835, 840 (Tex.

App.—San Antonio, writ denied) (court has inherent power to sanction). An appeal

is frivolous if brought without observing the minimal procedural requirements for

an appeal. See Diana Rivera & Assocs. v. Cabrillo, 986 S.W.2d 795, 799 (Tex.

App.—Corpus Christi 1999, pet. denied) (appellant ignored statute about

interlocutory appeals and case law adverse to her position). In addition to filing

the premature notice of appeal, Appellant misrepresented in her docketing

Motion to Dismiss and for Costs Page 2 statement that the interlocutory order of dismissal was a final judgment that

disposed of all parties and issues in the listed trial court cause number. Before

filing this motion, counsel for Appellees wrote counsel for Appellant on January

23, 2015, and February 5, 2015, asking that they voluntarily dismiss this appeal.

Copies of that correspondence are attached hereto as Exhibit "C." Counsel for

Appellant never responded, necessitating this motion. Appellees request that the

Court award them $450.00 as damages or sanctions, which represents 2.2 hours of

attorney time at $200.00 per hour for researching and drafting this motion and the

$10.00 filing fee.

5. The undersigned declares under penalty of perjury that the facts stated

in this document are true and correct.

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellees Southern Insurance

Company and Steve Dollery respectfully pray that the Court grant this motion,

dismiss Appellant Rose Ena Cantu's appeal, award Appellees their costs for

responding to this frivolous appeal, and for such other and further relief to which

Appellees may show themselves justly entitled.

Motion to Dismiss and for Costs Page 3 Respectfully submitted,

HANNA & PLAUT, L.L.P. 211 East Seventh Street, Suite 600 Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 472-7700 Facsimile: (512) 472-0205

By: /s/ Eric S. Peabody Catherine L. Hanna State Bar No. 08918280 channa@hannaplaut.com Eric S. Peabody State Bar No. 00789539 epeabody@hannaplaut.com Laura D. Tubbs State Bar No. 24052792 ltubbs @hannaplaut.com

COUNSEL FOR APPELLEES SOUTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY AND STEVE DOLLERY

Motion to Dismiss and for Costs Page 4 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

On January 23, 2015, and February 5, 2015, counsel for Appellees Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery attempted to confer with counsel for Appellant Rosa Ena Cantu regarding the substance of this motion. Counsel for Appellant did not respond.

/s/ Eric S. Peabody Eric S. Peabody

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion to Strike the Notice of Appeal, Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, and Award Costs has been forwarded by e-service and/or facsimile on the 9th day of February, 2015 to:

Via Facsimile: (713) 467-8883 Robert L. Collins M. Chad Gerke Audrey Guthrie P.O. Box 7726 Houston, Texas 77270-7726

Via Facsimile: (713) 467-8883 Christopher D. Lewis 1721 West T.C. Jester Blvd. Houston, Texas 77008

Counsel for Appellant

Motion to Dismiss and for Costs Page 5 Exhibit A CAUSE NO, 29,358

ROSE ENA CANTU, ROBERTA IN THE DISTRICT COURT GODWARD, GAIL SCHIAVONE- FRANKE, WILMA MAYES, ADELE AND DON THORNE, and ALEXIS AND WILLIAM CHRISAN, Plaintiffs

21st JUDICIAL DISTRICT vs.

TEXAS SOUTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY, ALLSTATE TEXAS LLOYD'S INC., STEVE DOLLERY, TY HARLAN FLETCHER, and JOSH RANDALL, Defendants BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS

ORDER ON THIS DAY came on for consideration Defendant Southern Insurance Company's and

Steve Dollery's Plea in Abatement, Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Sever, and this Court,

having considered the motion and plea, the response, the reply, the evidence on file, and' the

arguments of counsel, findst hat the motion and plea should be GRANTED,

Accordingly, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that Cantu's claims against

Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery are dismissed without prejudice.

SIGNED this /O'4day of December, 2014,

FILEDVM: M DATE_ /0 ict Sara, Lou 1cs Dtstriot Clerk, Bastrop Count Exhibit B Electronically Filed 11/17/2014 5:51:48 PM Sarah Loucks, District Clerk Bastrop County, Texas By: Tern Hocker, Deputy

CAUSE NO. 29,358

ROSE ENA CANTU, ROBERTA IN THE DISTRICT COURT GODWARD, GAIL SCHIAVONE- FRANKE, WILMA MAYES, ADELE AND DON THORNE, and ALEXIS AND WILLIAM CHRISAN, Plaintiffs

TEXAS SOUTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY, ALLSTATE TEXAS LLOYD'S INC., STEVE DOLLERY, TY HARLAN FLETCHER, and JOSH RANDALL, Defendants BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS

DEFENDANTS SOUTHERN INSURANCE COMPANY'S AND STEVE DOLLERY'S FIRST AMENDED ANSWER AND COUNTERCLAIM

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:

COME NOW Defendants Southern Insurance Company and Steve Dollery and

file this First Amended Answer and Counterclaim to Plaintiffs' Original Petition, and

would respectfully show the Court the following:

GENERAL DENIAL

Pursuant to TEx, R. Dv. P. 92, Defendants deny each and every, all and singular,

the allegations set forth in Plaintiffs' Original Petition and demand strict proof thereof at

the final trial of this case.

IL PLEA IN ABATEMENT

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Related

Johnson v. Johnson
948 S.W.2d 835 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
City of Houston v. Kilburn
849 S.W.2d 810 (Texas Supreme Court, 1993)
Curtis v. Gibbs
511 S.W.2d 263 (Texas Supreme Court, 1974)
Diana Rivera & Associates, P.C. v. Calvillo
986 S.W.2d 795 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)

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