the Office of the Attorney General v. Anthony Lewis and Princor Financial Services Corp. & Principle Life Insurance Co.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 18, 2016
• Docket: 01-16-00065-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

ORDER ON MOTION

Appellate case name: The Office of the Attorney General of Texas v. Anthony Lewis; Princor Financial Services Corp.; Principal Life Insurance Co.; Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P.; and M.A.L.

Appellate case number: 01-16-00065-CV

Trial court case number: 2000-08653

Trial court: 308th District Court of Harris County

This is an interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s order, signed on January 5, 2016, granting a temporary injunction in favor of appellee Anthony Lewis in this child support proceeding. Appellant, The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), has filed a motion to stay the entry of a final judgment pending disposition of this interlocutory appeal, but does not seek a stay of the trial set for February 23, 2016, or of any other proceeding in the trial court. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(4), (b) (West Supp. 2015) (stating that interlocutory appeal from granting of temporary injunction does not stay commencement of trial pending appeal). The OAG’s motion states that while counsel for appellee Lewis has been contacted and is opposed to this motion, counsel for appellees Princor Financial Services Corp., Principal Life Insurance Co., and Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P., are unopposed to this motion, and M.A.L. has been contacted, but has yet to respond. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 29.5 prohibits a trial court from making an order that “interferes with or impairs the jurisdiction of the appellate court or effectiveness of any relief sought or that may be granted on appeal.” TEX. R. APP. P. 29.5(b). Rule 29.3 allows an appellate court to make any temporary orders necessary to preserve the parties’ rights until disposition of the appeal. Id. 29.3. Ten days have passed with no response filed. See id. 10.3(a)(2). Accordingly, we grant the motion to stay and order that the trial court’s entry of a final judgment is STAYED pending disposition of this appeal or further order of this Court. It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: /s/ Laura Carter Higley  Acting individually

Date: February 18, 2016