Judge Carlos Cascos
Decision Date | 02 September 2010 |
Docket Number | 13-10-00059-CV.,No. 13-10-00016-CV,13-10-00023-CV,13-10-00016-CV |
Citation | 319 S.W.3d 205 |
Parties | Judge Carlos CASCOS, et al., Appellants,v.CAMERON COUNTY ATTORNEY, Appellee.In re Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, et al. |
Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
James P. Allison, Robert T. Bass, Vanessa Ann Gonzalez, J. Eric Magee, Jana C. Williams, Allison, Bass & Associates, LLP, Austin, Ernesto Gamez, Law Office of Ernesto Gamez, Jr., Brownsville, for Appellants.
Armando R. Villalobos, Dist. Atty., Charles E. Mattingly, Dist. Atty's Office, Rene Garza, Cameron County Atty's Office, Rene B. Gonzalez, Asst. Dist. Atty., Brownsville, Ricardo Palacios, Gonzalez Palacios, LLP, McAllen, for Appellee.
Before Chief Justice VALDEZ and Justices YAÑEZ and VELA.
By two interlocutory appeals, appellate cause numbers 13-10-00016-CV and 13-10-00023-CV, appellants, Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, Cameron County Commissioners Sofia Benavides, John Wood, David Garza, and Edna Tamayo, in their official capacities as Cameron County Commissioners Court, and Richard Burst, Bruce Hodge, and Dylbia Jeffries, in their official capacities as attorneys in the Cameron County Civil Legal Division, complain about trial court orders granting appellee, Cameron County Attorney Armando Villalobos a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction and denying appellants' plea to the jurisdiction. By one issue in each interlocutory appeal, appellants assert that the trial court abused its discretion in granting appellee a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction.1
Moreover, in appellate cause number 13-10-00059-CV, appellants filed a petition for writ of mandamus and an accompanying emergency motion, arguing that the trial court's order affirming appellee's temporary injunction is void and that appellants are entitled to “supersede” or, in other words, suspend the enforcement of the temporary injunction during the pendency of this matter on appeal.
With regard to appellants' petition for writ of mandamus in appellate cause number 13-10-00059-CV, we conditionally grant the writ requested. Furthermore, we grant appellee's motion to dismiss appellate cause number 13-10-00016-CV. In appellate cause number 13-10-00023-CV, we dissolve the temporary injunction, reverse the judgment of the trial court, and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
On December 17, 2009, appellee filed his original petition for declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting that: (1) the Cameron County Commissioners Court improperly transferred the Cameron County Civil Legal Division out of appellee's office; (2) by advising and representing the Cameron County Commissioners Court, the Cameron County Civil Legal Division usurped appellee's constitutional and statutory duties; and (3) the Cameron County Commissioners Court does not have the authority to hire permanent legal counsel. On December 18, 2009, the trial court entered an ex parte order, purportedly issuing a temporary restraining order against appellants and setting the hearing on appellee's application for a temporary injunction for January 1, 2010. The temporary restraining order prevented the Civil Legal Division from advising and representing the Commissioners Court and was set to expire fourteen days from the trial court's December 18, 2009 order.
On December 29, 2009, appellee filed a motion to extend the temporary restraining order and to reset the hearing date on his temporary injunction request. On December 30, 2009, the trial court granted appellee's motion to extend the temporary restraining order and reset the hearing on appellee's request for a temporary injunction to January 15, 2010.
On January 7, 2010, appellants responded by filing a motion to dissolve, vacate, and rescind the trial court's December 18, 2009 ex parte order. In their motion, appellants argued, among other things, that appellee's petition did not comply with the requirements for ex parte relief; the relief sought is not supported by the law; appellee failed to cite any relevant constitutional or statutory provisions that the Cameron County Civil Legal Division usurped; and the ex parte order is legally insufficient and, therefore, void. Shortly thereafter, appellants filed a response and trial brief in opposition to appellee's petition for declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that: (1) res judicata applied to this litigation, especially in light of this Court's decision in Cameron County v. Lone Star National Bank, 107 S.W.3d 853 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2003, no pet.); (2) appellee is a County Attorney and, therefore, does not have general civil jurisdiction over County matters; (3) declaratory relief is not available to appellee under the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act (the “Act”); and (4) the Cameron County Commissioners Court has the power to manage the budget and organize County employees. Additionally, on January 8, 2010, appellants filed a plea to the jurisdiction, special exceptions, a cross-action for damages incurred for a wrongfully-obtained temporary restraining order, and an original answer.
On January 15, 2010, the trial court conducted a hearing on all pending motions. At this hearing, Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, Cameron County Clerk Joe G. Rivera, Chief Deputy for the Cameron County Sheriff's Office Gus Reyna Jr., and appellee testified. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court took the matter under advisement.
Subsequently, on January 19, 2010, the trial court granted appellee's motion to enjoin appellants and denied appellants' plea to the jurisdiction. In its January 19, 2010 order, the trial court made the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:
To continue reading
Request your trial-
City of Brownsville v. Brownsville GMS, Ltd.
...order signed on May 15, 2019. The expiration of a temporary restraining order renders a challenge to it moot. See Cascos v. Cameron Co. Atty., 319 S.W.3d 205, 220 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi-Edinburg 2010, no pet.), abrogated on other grounds by In re State Bd. for Educator Certification, 452......
-
Gattis v. Duty
...diverges from that of other county officials, as routinely occurs among different state officials and agencies. See Cascos v. Cameron County Attorney, 319 S.W.3d 205, 224–26 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2010, no pet.) (“[county attorney] was entitled to file his declaratory judgment action to c......
-
In re Pierce, NUMBER 13-12-00125-CV
...more than preserve the status quo during the ten[-]day span of a temporary restraining order."); see also Cascos v. Cameron County Atty. (In re Cascos), 319 S.W.3d 205, 218-19 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2010, no pet.) (combined appeal & orig. proceeding). An order that does more than protect......
-
In re State Bd. for Educator Certification
...rule to conclude that trial court had discretion to deny State's motion to supersede adverse judgment); but see Cascos v. Cameron Cnty. Attorney, 319 S.W.3d 205, 217 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2010, no pet.) (“[B]ecause the case law is clear that a governmental entity, such as a County, has t......