in Re All Saints Health System ( 2002 )

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

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NO. 03-02-00229-CV

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In re All Saints Health System, et al.

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ORIGINAL PROCEEDING FROM TRAVIS COUNTY

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O R D E R

PER CURIAM

On April 16, 2002, relators All Saints Health System, et al. filed a petition for writ of mandamus. Relators are a group of hospitals that intervened in the underlying lawsuit for declaratory judgment, trial court number GN-001259, styled Continental Casualty Co., et al. v. The Texas Workers' Compensation Commission. Continental Casualty Company and other insurance companies commenced the underlying lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment regarding Commission rules providing for hospital reimbursement and specifically the rule specifying the time period for filing hospital reimbursement claims. See 28 Tex. Admin. Code § 133.305(a) (hereinafter referred to as "the one year rule"). Trial is set for April 19, 2002.

On February 22, 2002, the relators, the intervenor hospitals, amended their petition in intervention and for the first time requested affirmative relief in the form of a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, and a writ of mandamus. The insurance companies moved to sever the intervenors' requests for affirmative relief into a separate cause number and the district court held a hearing on April 3, 2002.

By letter ruling of April 9, 2002, the district court granted the insurance companies' motion to sever and thus severed the intervenors' declaratory judgment action and requests for affirmative relief from the insurance companies' declaratory judgment action regarding the one year rule.

The relators, the intervenor hospitals, bring this mandamus challenging the district court's ruling severing their declaratory judgment action from the insurance companies' declaratory judgment action. The relators also seek emergency relief staying all trial court proceedings, in particular the trial to the court set for April 19, 2002.

Although the district court's letter ruling has not been reduced to a written order, this Court concludes from the record before us that the intervenors will be permitted to participate in the underlying declaratory judgment action commenced by the insurance companies and scheduled for trial on April 19, 2002. With that understanding, this Court denies the motion to stay all trial court proceedings.

Regarding the petition for writ of mandamus, the real parties in interest are requested to respond to the relators' petition for writ of mandamus and file responses in this Court by May 6, 2002. Further, this Court requests that the parties submit by that date the signed written order of severance for this Court's review.

It is ordered April 17, 2002.

Before Justices Kidd, Patterson and Puryear

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