in Re Elizabeth Benavidez Elite Aviation, Inc. ( 2019 )

Fourth Court of Appeals
San Antonio, Texas
MEMORANDUM OPINION
No. 04-19-00283-CV
IN RE ELIZABETH BENAVIDEZ ELITE AVIATION, INC.
Original Mandamus Proceeding 1
PER CURIAM
Sitting: Rebeca C. Martinez, Justice
Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice
Irene Rios, Justice
Delivered and Filed: May 15, 2019
PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS DENIED
In this original proceeding, relator asks this court to compel the trial court to grant its no-
evidence motion for summary judgment, which it filed on March 4, 2019. We deny the petition
for writ of mandamus.
DISCUSSION
Upon the filing of a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, “[t]he court must grant
the motion unless the respondent produces summary judgment evidence raising a genuine issue of
material fact.” TEX. R. CIV. P. 166a(i). Because the real party in interest did not respond to
relator’s no-evidence motion for summary judgment, relator asserts the trial court had no discretion
1
This proceeding arises out of Cause No. 2017CVK002669-D3, styled Laredo Jet Center, LLC v. City of Laredo, et
al., pending in the 341st Judicial District Court, Webb County, Texas, the Honorable Rebecca Ramirez Palomo
presiding.
04-19-00283-CV
to refuse to grant its motion, and this court has the authority to issue a writ directing the trial court
to grant the motion.
Although Rule 166a(i) plainly states that the motion “must” be granted absent a proper
response, we do not have the authority by mandamus to require the trial court to grant relator’s
pending motion. Crofts v. Court of Civil Appeals, 362 S.W.2d 101, 104-05 (Tex. 1962) (orig.
proceeding) (appellate court “may not tell the district court what judgment to enter”); In re Mission
Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist., 990 S.W.2d 459, 460 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1999, orig.
proceeding) (“we do not have the authority by mandamus . . . to require the trial court to grant the
present ‘no evidence’ motion for summary judgment”). Therefore, we deny relator’s petition for
writ of mandamus. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.8(a).
PER CURIAM
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