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IS MY CASE MANDAMUSABLE?
A GUIDE TO THE
CURRENT STATE OF
TEXAS MANDAMUS LAW
Presentation By:
Justice Marialyn Barnard
Emmanuel Garcia
What is Mandamus?
¢  A
petition for writ of mandamus is:
— 
An original appellate proceeding that seeks
extraordinary relief
— 
A court order to perform some specific legal
duty to which the relator is entitled to
— 
Allows a party to appeal a court s ruling before
final judgment substantially deprives the
relator s rights
Jurisdiction
¢  Who
— 
should attorneys seek relief from?
Intermediate Appellate Courts
Article V, Section 6 of Texas Constitution
¢  . . . as may be prescribed by law
¢  TEX. R. APP. P. 52.3(e)
¢  Mandates relief first be sought in intermediate appellate
courts
¢ 
— 
Supreme Court of Texas
Article V, Section 3 of Texas Constitution
¢  . . . as may be necessary
¢  Concurrent jurisdiction with court of appeals
¢  May bypass appeals court if compelling reasons exist
¢ 
What is Mandamus:
The Two Prong Standard
¢  Walker
v. Packer set the two-prong standard
necessary for courts to grant mandamus
relief
— 
Clear Abuse of Discretion
— 
No Other Adequate Remedy at Law is Available
What is Mandamus:
The Two Prong Standard
— 
Clear Abuse of Discretion
¢ 
Differing minds between courts isn t enough
¢ 
¢ 
Must be shown decision was arbitrary and
unreasonable
Misapplying the relevant law
What is Mandamus:
The Two Prong Standard
— 
No Other Adequate Remedy at Law is
Available
¢ 
Balancing test set in In re Prudential Insurance Co. of
America
¢ 
¢ 
Determination heavily depends on each case s
circumstances
Will mandamus relief . . .
— 
— 
— 
(1) preserve a relator s substantive and procedural rights from
impairment or loss
(2) allow the appellate courts to give needed and helpful
direction to the law that would otherwise prove elusive in
appeals
(3) prevent the waste of public and private resources invested in
proceedings that would eventually be reversed
Common Reasons For
Denial of Mandamus Relief
¢  Compliance
with Texas Rule of Appellate
Procedure 52
— 
Adequate Record
— 
Certification
Common Reasons For
Denial of Mandamus Relief
¢  Disputed
Areas of Fact
— 
Mandamus relief will not issue if the right to
relief turns on an issue of fact.
— 
However, appellate courts may issue mandamus
relief if the existence of a question of fact is
wholly irrelevant to any issue before the court
or is a matter that cannot be litigated in the
case.
Common Reasons For
Denial of Mandamus Relief
¢  Predicate
Request
— 
Mandamus is not available to compel a trial
court to act if the action has not first been
requested and refused by the trial court
— 
When the request to the trial court would be
futile, parties are excused from this
requirement
Common Reasons For
Denial of Mandamus Relief
¢  Delay
— 
An unexplained delay in seeking relief from a
trial court s order can result in a summary
denial of a mandamus petition
— 
May raise defense of laches
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Discovery
¢ 
Discovery orders
— 
— 
Leaving the appellate court unable to correct error
Severely compromise or vitiate a party s ability to
present a viable claim or defense
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Discovery
¢ 
Setting aside a valid discovery agreement without
good cause
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Discovery
¢ 
Order abating all discovery
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Discovery
¢ 
Discovery Sanctions
¢ 
Imposing monetary penalty on a party s
prospective exercise of its legal rights
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Discovery
¢ 
Pre-suit Discovery
¢ 
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Disqualification and Conflicts of Interest
¢ 
Trial Court Judge
¢ 
Trial Counsel
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Venue
¢ 
Enforce Mandatory Venue Provisions
¢ 
Failure to Follow Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 87
¢ 
Exceptional Circumstances
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Plea in Abatement
¢ 
When trial court interferes with another trial court
exercising dominant jurisdiction
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Plea to the Jurisdiction
¢ 
Two exceptions:
¢ 
¢ 
Denial of the plea and rendering of an order that
directly interferes with another court s
jurisdiction
When an agency has exclusive jurisdiction over a
dispute
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Erroneous grant or denial of a temporary
restraining order
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Temporary Injunction
¢ 
When an accelerated appeal would be inadequate
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for Continuance
¢ 
¢ 
Look at circumstances of each individual case
May correct trial court s error to promote judicial
efficiency and use of resources
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Gag Orders
¢ 
No adequate legal remedy from gag order
¢ 
¢ 
Relator would be restrained in speech
Harm suffered from order could not be repaired on
appeal
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
Severance
¢ 
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Waste of judicial and public resources
Consolidation
¢ 
Extraordinary circumstances, such as unable to
remedy likely juror confusion
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Ruling on Pending Motions
¢ 
Relator must establish the trial court
(1) had legal duty to perform a nondiscretionary act
(2) was asked to perform the act, and
(3) failed or refused to do so
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Void Order
¢ 
¢ 
Beyond court s jurisdiction; plenary power has
expired
Different from voidable orders
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Arbitration
¢ 
Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration
¢ 
Order Granting Motion to Compel Arbitration
¢ 
Other Orders
¢  Review order under FAA that appoints arbitrator
¢  Enforce mandatory venue provision
¢  Improperly defer ruling on motion to compel
arbitration
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Elections
¢ 
Texas Election Code Section 273.061
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Enforce Contractual Rights
For example
(1) when parties agree to submit to an appraisal
process to determine the value of the loss of the
vehicle,
(2) a contractual jury- waiver provision, and
(3) a binding forum-selection clause.
¢ 
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 173.7
¢ 
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Regularly available in Family Law Proceedings
¢ 
Order affecting parent-child relationship
¢ 
Failure of trial court to comply with certain duties
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Criminal Proceedings
¢ 
Different standard than in civil cases because it requires the
act sought to be compelled is ministerial rather than
discretionary
Relator must establish:
(1) the act sought to be compelled is ministerial, and
(2) there is no other adequate remedy at law
¢ 
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
In re Columbia
¢ 
Trial court must specify the reasons for disregarding the
jury s verdict in the order granting a motion for new trial
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
In re United Scaffolding, Inc.
¢ 
Supreme Court again focuses on specificity of the trial
court order, not whether the substance of the trial court s
reasons should be reviewed by the appellate court
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
In re United Scaffolding, Inc.
¢ 
Court gave examples of when an order granting a new
trial may rise to the level of an abuse of discretion
(1) if the given reason, specific or not, is not one for which a
new trial is legally valid,
(2) if the articulated reasons plainly state that the trial court
merely substituted its own judgment for the jury s, or
(3) if the order, though rubber-stamped with a valid new-trial
rationale, provides little or no insight into the judge s
reasoning
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
¢ 
In re United Scaffolding, Inc.
The court imposed a two-part test:
¢  The order must indicate that the trial judge considered
the specific facts and circumstances of the case at hand
and
¢  Explain how the evidence (or lack of evidence) undermines
the jury s findings
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
¢ 
¢ 
In re Toyota Motor Sales, Inc.
Until the issuance of Toyota, courts had declined to conduct
a merit-based review of new trial orders
The court concluded, [H]aving already decided that new
trial orders must meet these requirements and that
noncompliant orders will be subject to mandamus review, it
would make sense to conclude now that the correctness or
validity of the orders articulated reasons cannot also be
evaluated
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
¢ 
¢ 
In re Toyota Motor Sales, Inc.
Court determined that disallowing a merit-based review
would work against the requirements in Columbia and
render them mere formalities, lacking any substantive
checks by appellate courts to ensure that the discretion to
grant new trials has been exercised appropriately.
Court concluded that even if the order complies with
procedural requirements, the order cannot stand so long as
the trial court s reasoning is not supported by the record
When is Mandamus Review Appropriate?
¢  Recent
— 
issues subject to mandamus
Motion for New Trial
¢ 
¢ 
In re Toyota Motor Sales, Inc.
The decision in Toyota finalizes the trilogy regarding new
trial orders after a jury trial⎯a merit-based review of such
orders is now subject to mandamus review
How is Mandamus Law Affecting
Trial Practice?
¢  More
options for remedying a trial court s
error prior to appeal
¢  A
proper record and an appropriate order are
essential to obtaining mandamus relief
¢ 
Timely seek such relief from a trial court s
ruling
— 
Knowledge of the availability of mandamus relief is valuable
for all parties