Case Information
*0 FILED IN 14th COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 4/14/2015 10:53:24 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk *1 ACCEPTED 14-15-00212-CV FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 4/14/2015 10:53:24 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK No. 419,625-401
IN THE ESTATE OF DORIS J. SIMON, : IN THE PROBATE COURT
INCAPACITATED : NUMBER ONE
:
vs :
MICHAEL BOLTZ, ANGELA JOHNSON, : HARRIS COUNTY,TEXAS
JOELLEN SNOW, JERRY SIMONEAUX :
& LAUREN BYRD :
No. 14-15-00212-CV
IN THE ESTATE OF DORIS J. SIMON, : IN THE FOURTEENTH COURT
: INCAPACITATED. APPELLANT : OF APPEALS :
vs : HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS :
:
JOELLEN SNOW, APPELLEE, :
ANGELA JOHNSON, APPELLEE :
and :
MICHAEL BOLTZ, JERRY SIMONEAUX :
and LAUREN BYRD :
P LAINTIFF /A PPELLANT ’ S R EQUEST FOR F URTHER C ONSIDERATION OF P LAIANITIFF ’ S R EQUEST FOR P ERMISSION TO T AKE I NTERLOCUTORY A PPEAL TO THE HONORABLE COURT:
Guardian Morna Simon-McGuffey, as agent and representative for the Estate of Doris J. Simon, reurges its request for the court to grant permission for her to take an
interlocutory appeal of the court’s orders dismissing Defendants Angela Johnson and
Joellen Snow, and further requests the Court to sever causes related to defendants Angela
Johnson and Joellen Snow for the purpose of allowing an interlocutory appeal, presently
docketed at the Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District, No. 14-15-00212-CV
.
1. As a result of the dismissals of Plaintiff/Appellant’s causes against Defendants Johnson and Snow, legal questions are now before the court concerning legal
duties owed by attorneys AdLitem to their clients, especially clients known to have been
medically determined to be legally incompetent, and concerning legal duties owed by and
the responsibilities of “Expert” Guardianship Attorneys employed to represent clients
according to the exercise of “Power of Attorney” rights and privileges, and according to
other agency-“like” principles such as Restatement of Law attorney liability to client and
non-clients. Such issues are ripe for decision as they were pleaded to the Probate Court
by Plaintiff’s First Amended Original Petition, yet dismissed upon special exceptions and
according to Rule 91(a). Their resolution here on appeal may well influence the
resolution of other remaining claims among the parties.
2. Appellant/Plaintiff Simon-McGuffey seeks to reinstate all claims against defendants Johnson and Snow.
3. The controversies involved between Appellant and Defendants Snow and Johnson, and the three defenants, Michael Boltz, Jerry Simoneaux and Lauren Bird,
present more than one cause of action that arose out of a series of events, culminating and
following the October, 2013 appointment of a guardian for Doris J. Simon. The present
causes against Defendants’ Snow and Johnson y derive from the actions and malfeasonse
of the two and various other defendants at various times as they interacted with others
and each others. Judicial economy thuse required the initial joinder of these causes,
though it is requested that the Snow, Johnson controversies be severed to allow an appeal
of the dismissals, it is recognized that, following the appeal, judicial economy will
demand rejoinder because interwoven facts are common and many.
4. The proposed severed claims based upon involvements of Defendants Johnson and Snow could be the proper subject of a lawsuit if asserted independently;
howver, they were joined in this lawsuit because they arose out of the same and similar
facts.
5. Because the court’s rulings froom which permission to appeal is requested are required to be “No Evidence Considered” [1] rulings [Tex. R. Civ. P. 91(a)6], questions
of law are all that can emerge fromy the court’s Special Exception and Rule 91(a) rulings,
thus questions of law presented to the Court of Appeals are all questions of law that may
be properly decided. There can be no disputed fact issues at this state of pretrial
procedure.
6. 6. The severance is requested to do justice, avoid prejudice, and further
convenience in that the parties are essentially before the appellate court with the Clerk’s
Record and Reporters Record poised to be filed on or about April 26, 2014 and thereby
beginning the briefing timetable. Defendant/Appellee’s Snow and Johnson argue their
posture that plaintiff suffer the greatest prejudice there is by having her appeal dismissed.
*4 PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiff/Appellant M ORNA S IMON -M C G UFFEY , GDN,
G UARDIAN AND R EPRESENTATIVE FOR THE E STATE OF D ORIS J. S IMON PRAYS THAT THE
C OURT permit the continuation of the appeal of this case to the Fourteenth Court of
Appeals of Harris County Texas under cause No. 14-15-00212-CV and grant the
Appellant Plaintiff Permission to present this appeal to the Court of Appeals as a case
granted permission by the Probate Court to take an Interlocutory Appeal.
Respectfully submitted, ____/s/ H. Clay McGuffey________________ Henry Clay McGuffey P.O. Box P.O. Box 980593 Houston, Texas 77098-5804 5804 Fordham
Houston, Texas 77005 Texas State Bar No. 13661500 Tel. 713-855-5669 Fax: 713-583-2706 clay.mcguffey@yahoo.com mcguffey@texas.net Attorney for Morna Simon-McGuffey, Guardian for the Estate and Person of Doris J. Simon
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
This is to certify that true and correct copies of the foregoing are served on counsel of
record for the parties on this 14th day of April, 2015.
________/s/ H. Clay McGuffey____________ Henry Clay McGuffey