in Re Fraudulent Hospital Lien Litigation ( 2020 )


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  •                                  NUMBER 13-19-00633-CV
    COURT OF APPEALS
    THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
    CORPUS CHRISTI–EDINBURG
    IN RE FRAUDULENT HOSPITAL LIEN LITIGATION
    On appeal from MDL No. 15-0360-H in the 444th District Court
    of Cameron County, Texas.
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Longoria and Hinojosa
    Memorandum Opinion by Justice Longoria
    MedData d/b/a Alegis Revenue Group, L.L.C. (MedData) filed this notice of appeal
    from MDL No. 15-0360-H, In re Fraudulent Hospital Lien Litigation, pending in the 444th
    District Court of Cameron County, Texas. 1 MedData alleged that the judge of the MDL
    1This case originated in trial court cause number C-2488-19-F in the 332nd District Court of
    Hidalgo County, Texas, which was transferred to MDL No. 15-0360-H in the 444th District Court of Cameron
    County, Texas, for consolidated pretrial proceedings.
    pretrial court had not ruled on MedData’s motion to dismiss filed pursuant to the Texas
    Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) within the statutory deadline, and accordingly, its motion
    to dismiss was “considered to have been denied by operation of law.” See TEX. CIV. PRAC.
    & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 27.005(a), 27.008(a). This appeal ensued.
    On January 9, 2020, MedData filed a “Motion to Dismiss Appeal as Premature.”
    Without “abandoning its position that each case in an MDL proceeding is distinct,”
    MedData asserted that its attempted interlocutory appeal should be dismissed on grounds
    that the underlying MDL proceedings are stayed, and thus its notice of appeal was
    premature. MedData’s motion to dismiss is opposed by appellees, Guillermo Acuna, et
    al., 2 however, more than ten days have passed since the motion to dismiss was filed and
    appellees have not filed a response or other pleading in opposition to MedData’s motion.
    See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.1(a)(5), 10.1(b), 10.3(a).
    The Court, having examined and fully considered the motion to dismiss and the
    applicable law, is of the opinion that the appeal should be dismissed for the reasons
    expressed in our opinion in In re Fraudulent Hospital Lien Litigation, No. 13-19-00627-
    CV, 2020 WL _____ (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Mar. 5, 2020, no pet. h.) (mem.
    op.),   available     at   http://www.search.txcourts.gov/case.aspx?cn=13-19-00627-CV.
    2 The appellees include: Guillermo Acuna, Cinthia Amaro, Rosa Amaro, Perfecto Anciso Jr.,
    Angela Badillo Saenz, Vicente Cerda, Quirina Chavez, Gabriela Colunga, Tomas Cruz, Maria Delgadillo,
    Linda Flores, Maria Garcia, Maria Garcia, Darlene Garza, Onecimo Garza, Yajaira Garza, Maribel
    Gutierrez, Flor Hernandez, Ruben Hernandez, Andrea Juarez, Ricardo Loredo, Belinda Luna, Maria
    Macias, Maria Mar, Bertha Morales, Jose Ortiz, George Ovalle, Arminda Ozorio, Rebecca Pena, Luis
    Perez, Samantha Perez, Benita Pinkston, Rosamaria Rangel, Bertha Rendon, Edgar Rivera, Yolanda
    Robles, Esli Roca, Janett Rosales, Arnulfo Ruiz, Guadalupe Ruiz, Martin Ruiz, Renato Ruiz, Ahmeed
    Sanchez, Lesbia Sanchez, Alfonso Tijerina, Cynthia Valencia, Juanita Vargas, Claudia Vasquez, Mattie
    Webb, and Albert Zamora.
    2
    Accordingly, we grant MedData’s motion to dismiss and we dismiss this appeal for lack
    of jurisdiction. Pending motions, if any, are dismissed as moot.
    NORA L. LONGORIA
    Justice
    Delivered and filed the
    5th day of March, 2020.
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 13-19-00633-CV

Filed Date: 3/5/2020

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 3/7/2020