Street v. Second Court of Appeals

• Decision Date: 25 June 1986
• Docket Number: No. C-5073,C-5073
• Citation: Street v. Second Court of Appeals, 715 S.W.2d 638 (Tex. 1986)
• Parties: The Honorable John STREET, Judge et al., Relators, v. The SECOND COURT OF APPEALS, Respondent.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 638

715 S.W.2d 638

The Honorable John STREET, Judge et al., Relators, v. The SECOND COURT OF APPEALS, Respondent.

No. C-5073.

Supreme Court of Texas.

June 25, 1986.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 1, 1986.

Don Prager, Travis Alley, Fort Worth, for relators.

Strasburger & Price, E. Thomas Bishop and Mark Donheiser, Dallas, for respondent.

PER CURIAM.

The issue in this mandamus proceeding is whether the court of appeals improperly granted mandamus relief from the trial court's award of attorney's fees as discovery sanctions, because such sanctions are subject to review on appeal after final judgment. Tex.R.Civ.P. 215(2)(b)(8) and (3). We hold that mandamus was not a proper remedy when there was an adequate remedy by appeal, and so conditionally grant the writ.

This proceeding arises out of an action to recover life insurance benefits filed by relators Kenneth L. Cremean and Jesse Covin, as independent co-executors of the Estate of Frederick L. Cremean ("Cremean"), against Lone Star Insurance Company, the real party in interest. On April 10, 1985, Cremean served written interrogatories and request for admissions on Lone Star. Lone Star then filed a "Motion to Quash and for Protective Order," asking the court to quash the interrogatories and request for admissions, or alternatively, to limit them or delay the time for answering them until after all other discovery was complete. On July 19, 1985, Cremean filed a motion to compel discovery and a motion for sanctions. There were subsequent responses and supplements to these motions. One day prior to the September 5, 1985 hearing on these motions, Lone Star filed its answers to the interrogatories and responses to the request for admissions.

In its order of September 19, 1985, the trial court held that the request for admissions be deemed admitted for all purposes. The court also sustained Cremean's motion for sanctions and ordered Lone Star to pay $1,050 as reasonable and necessary attorney's fees for preparation of the motions to compel and for sanctions. The court further ordered that if these fees were not paid by September 23, 1985, the court would "forthwith" strike Lone Star's pleadings and grant Cremean a default judgment.

Lone Star then sought mandamus review of the sanction order in the court of appeals. The court of appeals conditionally granted the writ, holding that nothing in Rule 215 restricted its right to grant mandamus review, that Lone Star lacked an adequate remedy by appeal, and that the trial court had abused its discretion in ordering sanctions against Lone Star. 703 S.W.2d 426.

Relators, the Honorable John Street and Cremean, then filed this motion for leave to file a petition for writ of mandamus. They argued that the court of appeals abused its discretion in granting mandamus relief because: (1) under Rule 215, appeal was the only proper method of review, and (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing sanctions. Because we hold that mandamus was not a proper remedy under the circumstances of this case, we do not reach whether the sanctions were properly imposed.

While a trial court's discretion in ruling on interlocutory matters is broad, an appellate court's discretion in exercising its mandamus power is much more...