In re Amegy Bank Nat'l Ass'n

• Decision Date: 10 May 2022
• Docket Number: 14-21-00499-CV
• Citation: 650 S.W.3d 842
• Parties: IN RE AMEGY BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Relator
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

650 S.W.3d 842

IN RE AMEGY BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Relator

NO. 14-21-00499-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (14th Dist.).

Opinion filed May 10, 2022

James E. Cuellar, Houston, for Relator.

C. Thomas Schmidt, for Real party in interest.

Panel consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Hassan and Wilson.

Randy Wilson, Justice

On September 3, 2021, relator Amegy Bank National Association filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 22.221 ; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. The underlying case involves a receivership in which the master-in-chancery issued two reports. The first master report concerns the non-exempt status of property belonging to real party in interest Emmanuel Megrelis, and the second master report found Megrelis in contempt for violating the turnover order. The trial court approved both reports in two orders, and Megrelis did not appeal either order. The trial court set the reports for trial. Amegy contends that the trial court lost its plenary power to conduct a trial on the master's reports after Megrelis did not appeal the orders approving the reports.

Amegy asks this court to prohibit the Honorable Dedra Davis, presiding judge of the 270th District Court of Harris County, from conducting a trial on the issues presented in the master's reports and disturbing the orders approving the master's reports. We deny the petition.

BACKGROUND

On October 1, 2010, the trial court signed an agreed final judgment against Megrelis and GB Foods, Inc. in favor of Amegy for actual damages, prejudgment interest, post-judgment interest, and attorney's fees. The trial court ordered that Amegy satisfy the judgment by seizing and selling property specifically identified in the judgment and "all other non-exempt property" of GB Foods and Megrelis. On April 1, 2011, the trial court signed a judgment nunc pro tunc to correct the spellings of Megrelis's name. The trial court also signed an order appointing Riecke Baumann receiver to take possession of and sell real and personal non-exempt property of GB Foods and Megrelis pursuant to the Texas Turnover Statute. Additionally, the trial court appointed Baumann master-in-chancery

650 S.W.3d 845

with the power to order the production of evidence, schedule hearings, and direct parties and witnesses to give testimony.

On April 20, 2012, Baumann filed his first master's report, finding that Megrelis had abandoned property located at 4701 Inker Street (the "Inker Street property") in Houston and had not claimed the property as being exempt from judgment enforcement.

On August 9, 2012, Megrelis objected to a proposed supplement to the April 1, 2011 order appointing the receiver and master. Megrelis objected that Baumann's authority as receiver was too broad and to Baumann's continuing to serve as master in chancery in the absence of a showing of the exceptional nature of this case. Asserting that Baumann, as receiver, had acted beyond the scope of the trial court's orders, Megrelis further asked the trial court to supplement the turnover order to provide for the application of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure to post-judgment discovery and to Baumann. Megrelis also filed a designation of exempt property, which included the Inker Street property.

After a status conference on June 12, 2013, the trial court found that Megrelis did not file an objection to the first master's report and signed the order approving the report. Megrelis did not file any post-judgment motions or appeal the order approving the first master's report

On July 25, 2016, Baumann filed his second master's report, which addressed events that took place after the approval of the first master's report. Baumann found that Megrelis had made no effort to pay the judgment despite having the ability to do so and was in contempt of the turnover order and should be attached until he purged himself of contempt. Megrelis filed an answer to the second master's report on December 19, 2017, asserting that the Inker Street property is his homestead and he did not...