The Abadi Group Companies, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy v. Weinritter St. Paul Square, LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 21, 2025
Docket04-24-00447-CV
StatusPublished

This text of The Abadi Group Companies, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy v. Weinritter St. Paul Square, LLC (The Abadi Group Companies, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy v. Weinritter St. Paul Square, LLC) 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
The Abadi Group Companies, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy v. Weinritter St. Paul Square, LLC, (Tex. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas MEMORANDUM OPINION No. 04-24-00447-CV

THE ABADI GROUP COMPANIES, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy, Appellants

v.

WEINRITTER ST. PAUL SQUARE, LLC, Appellee

From the 408th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2021-CI-19896 Honorable Nicole Garza, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Lori Massey Brissette, Justice

Sitting: Lori Massey Brissette, Justice Adrian A. Spears II, Justice H. Todd McCray, Justice

Delivered and Filed: May 21, 2025

MOTION GRANTED

Before us is appellant The Abadi Group Companies, LLC (“TAG”)’s February 28, 2025

Motion to Review Supersedeas Amount and Dissolve Injunction. Appellee Weinritter St. Paul

Square, LLC filed a response on March 17, 2025. TAG filed a reply on March 27, 2025. After

reviewing the parties’ filings, we grant the motion, reverse the trial court’s supersedeas bond and 04-24-00447-CV

injunction orders on February 7, 2025 and February 13, 2025, and remand to the trial court for

further proceedings consistent with this opinion and order.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND

Weinritter sued TAG alleging violations of the Texas Theft Liability Act, conversion,

breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, fraud, civil conspiracy, and the filing of a fraudulent

lien in violation of Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 12.002. During the pendency

of the suit, the parties entered into two agreed orders to interplead funds subject to injunction,

whereby TAG deposited into the registry of the court funds totaling $131,192.93. After a trial by

jury, the trial court issued a final judgment in April 2024 for more than $3 million in damages

against TAG. Weinritter used the judgment to withdraw the $131,192.93 shortly thereafter.

On October 2, 2024, the trial court entered a modified final judgment against TAG

providing TAG was responsible for:

• $86,291.90 in compensatory damages for fraud; • $21,548.11 in pre-judgment interest; • $10,000 in a statutory penalty under Chapter 12 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code for filing a fraudulent lien; • $439,257.95 in attorney’s fees (along with appellate attorney’s fees) and $7,611.56 in expenses; • A declaratory judgment: TAG is not now entitled to, and was never entitled to, a lien against the property; • An accounting: TAG along with Elias Abadi was required to make a full and complete verified written accounting to Weinritter of all funds paid to TAG by Weinritter; • A constructive trust on funds paid to Alan Levy, Melanie Levy, Elias Abadi, or Gianluca Ranallo, which can be traced through the accounting; and • All costs of court spent or incurred in this cause adjudged against the Defendants, jointly and severally. The judgment further acknowledged that the $131,192.93 “which has already been paid to

[Weinritter] shall be credited to the amount of [TAG]’s liability under this judgment.”

-2- 04-24-00447-CV

On October 8, 2024, TAG filed a motion to suspend enforcement of the judgment and for

a protective order, seeking, among other things, (1) an order providing it had already met the

requirements to suspend enforcement of the October 2 Modified Final Judgment by depositing

$131,192.93 into the registry of the court, (2) an order that the clerk issue a writ of supersedeas

regarding the October 2 Modified Final Judgment as to TAG, and (3) an order suspending

Weinritter’s efforts to otherwise enforce the judgment against it.

The parties exchanged letters and filed motions in furtherance of post-judgment discovery.

And in December 2024, “out of an abundance of caution” TAG filed an additional bond of $25,000

to cover court costs. 1 On January 3, 2025, Weinritter filed a motion to determine sufficiency of

supersedeas and requested Rule 24.2 relief including an injunction from TAG dissipating assets.

Specifically, it challenged TAG’s $25,000 supersedeas bond, arguing it failed to cover potential

costs, including attorney’s fees, along with the judgment’s equitable and declaratory relief. On

January 22, 2025, TAG responded, asserting its $131,192.93 deposit fully suspended the October

2nd judgment, exceeding the required amount and leaving only court costs covered by the $25,000

bond. TAG disputed including attorney’s fees in court costs, and argued the declaratory relief

(invalidating TAG’s lien) required no suspension as it caused no damages to Weinritter. It further

stated statutory penalties were excluded from Rule 24 calculations. Regarding equitable relief

(accounting and constructive trust), TAG claimed they were to preserve money, it’s $131,192.93

deposit into the court registry satisfied it, and Weinritter withdrew it, thereby receiving satisfaction

for the compensatory damages it was owed. Finally, TAG argued Weinritter was not entitled to an

injunction under Rule 24.2.

1 Costs of court, per the Bill of Costs, is less than $2,000.

-3- 04-24-00447-CV

The trial court held a hearing on the motions on February 7, 2025 and later that same day

signed the injunction prohibiting TAG from dissipating or transferring assets and mandating the

filing of monthly reports relating to its normal business activities. On February 13, 2025, the trial

court issued an order setting TAG’s supersedeas amount at $400,000.

TAG then filed a Motion to Review Supersedeas Amount and Dissolve Injunction in this

court, specifically requesting this court decrease the amount of security necessary to an amount

that supersedes the judgment and to dissolve or reform the injunction entered pursuant to Texas

Rule of Appellate Procedure 24.2(d).

SUPERSEDEAS BOND

The trial court initially heard arguments regarding the suspension of the judgment on

December 11, 2024. During the hearing, TAG and Weinritter addressed whether the $131,000

deposit superseded the judgment and whether attorney’s fees could be considered as a part of the

judgment pursuant to the fraudulent lien statute under Chapter 12 of the Texas Civil Practice &

Remedies Code. TAG moved:

for an order from this court setting forth the amount of the deposit necessary for [TAG] to suspend the objection under [Rule] 24 . . . . With regard to the $131,000, it’s my position that either that money if it belonged to [TAG], that it needs to be returned to the registry of the court at which point we can adopt it as a deposit. If it has not, then that money has been, has satisfied the $86,000 in—damages, which will directly impact the amount of the bond, because at that point it will be $0 in compensatory damages plus $0 in interest plus whatever the costs are. I’m looking from clarity from the court on that issue.

However, the trial court did not rule on the issue but asked for additional briefing from the parties.

On December 27, 2024, TAG filed an additional bond of $25,000 to cover “court costs.” On

January 3, 2025, Weinritter filed a motion to determine TAG’s supersedeas bond.

On February 7, 2025, the trial court held a hearing to resolve the motions. During the

hearing, Weinritter explained the appropriate bond amount was $433,159.86—the total amount of

-4- 04-24-00447-CV

the figures in the final judgment, including the full amount awarded as attorney’s fees, minus the

credit for $131,192.93. Weinritter asserted it was entitled to a bond amount that permitted the trial

court to set the bond for a higher amount because it received a judgment “other than money” under

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

Related

Emeritus Corp. v. Ofczarzak
198 S.W.3d 222 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Texas Custom Pools, Inc. v. Clayton
293 S.W.3d 299 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)
LMC Complete Automotive, Inc. v. Burke
229 S.W.3d 469 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Walker v. Packer
827 S.W.2d 833 (Texas Supreme Court, 1992)
in Re Teresa Corral-Lerma
451 S.W.3d 385 (Texas Supreme Court, 2014)
In re Nalle Plastics Family Ltd. Partnership
406 S.W.3d 168 (Texas Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
The Abadi Group Companies, LLC, and Elias Abadi, Gianluca Ranallo, Alan Levy, and Melanie Levy v. Weinritter St. Paul Square, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-abadi-group-companies-llc-and-elias-abadi-gianluca-ranallo-alan-texapp-2025.