Draughon v. Cockrell
| Decision Date | 31 July 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 09-03-069-CV.,09-03-069-CV. |
| Citation | 112 S.W.3d 775 |
| Parties | Martin Allen DRAUGHON, Appellant, v. Janie COCKRELL and Gary Johnson, Appellees. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Martin Allen Draughon, Livingston, pro se.
Dawn D. Rogers, for Janie Cockrell and Gary Johnson.
Before McKEITHEN, C.J., BURGESS and GAULTNEY, JJ.
Martin Allen Draughon, an inmate, appeals the trial court's order dismissing his suit against Janie Cockrell, Director of the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, (TDCJ-ID), and Gary Johnson, Executive Director of TDCJ-ID. Draughon brings a single issue in which he asserts the trial court erred and abused its discretion in dismissing his suit. The appellees did not file a brief.
In his petition, Draughon alleged Smith Corona typewriters had been sold at TDCJ-ID commissaries for several years, with repair services also being available to the purchasers. Draughon also alleged that subsequent to his typewriter purchase and initial use of the repair service, appellees enacted a policy change that effectively has denied him use of the repair services. Draughon complains that appellees (1) violated the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, (2) violated his right to access to the courts, (3)deprived him of property without due course of law, and (4) violated his equal protection rights.
The trial court found Draughon's petition did not comply with Chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code and dismissed all claims against the appellees. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. §§ 14.001-.014 (Vernon 2002).
We agree. One requirement of Chapter 14 is that an inmate who files a claim subject to the grievance system, which is established under Section 501.008 of the Government Code, must file an affidavit or unsworn declaration stating the date a grievance was filed and the date a written decision was received, and also must file a copy of the written decision. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 14.005(a)(1)(2) (Vernon 2002).1 Though Draughon attached to his petition copies of the grievance forms he purportedly filed, he did not include an affidavit or unsworn declaration.
The trial court has broad discretion to dismiss as frivolous or malicious a suit that is subject to Chapter 14, and we review that dismissal under the abuse of discretion standard. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 14.003(a)(2) (Vernon 2002); see White v. State, 37 S.W.3d 562, 563 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2001, no pet.). We previously have held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing a suit when an inmate did not file the affidavit related to previous filings as required under Section 14.004. See Hall v. Treon, 39 S.W.3d 722, 724 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2001, no pet.) Similarly, the trial court is entitled to use an inmate's failure to file a Section 14.005 affidavit or unsworn declaration in making its determination under Section 14.003(a).2
We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing Draughon's suit. Draughon's issue is overruled. The trial court's judgment is...
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Brewer v. Simental
...does not strictly comply with section 14.005(a), a trial court does not abuse its discretion in dismissing the claim. Draughon v. Cockrell, 112 S.W.3d 775, 776 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2003, no pet.). Brewer's second issue complains that the trial court abused its discretion for dismissing his s......
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Jaxson v. Morgan, No. 14-04-00785-CV (TX 4/6/2006)
...failure to file a section 14.005 affidavit or unsworn declaration in making its determination under section 14.003(a). Draughon v. Cockrell, 112 S.W.3d 775, 776 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2003, no pet.). At the time he filed his writ of mandamus, Jaxson did not file an affidavit or unsworn declara......
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Chapin v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, No. 14-03-00972-CV (Tex. App. 4/20/2004)
...use an inmate's failure to file a section 14.005 affidavit or unsworn declaration in deciding whether to dismiss the suit. Draughon v. Cockrell, 112 S.W.3d 775, 776 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2003, no pet.). At the time he filed his original petition, Chapin did not file an affidavit or unsworn de......