Ornelas v. Herrera

Excerpt

Ruling that recent resolutions with some defendants do not affect the Court's jurisdiction over remaining claims and declining to rule at this stage whether the remaining defendant owes fiduciary duties to certain plaintiffs. Denying the defendants' motion to dismiss under Rule 91a. The Court first finds that the case falls within the Court's jurisdictional scope and that the plaintiff's non-suit was not filed in time to prevent the court's ruling on the Rule 91a motion. It next finds that the plaintiff's application to wind up a partnership under section 11.314 of the Business Organizations Code provided sufficient factual allegations to support her claims at this early stage of the case. The Court declined to award fees. This opinion addresses the ability of the Court to adjudicate legal malpractice and fractured malpractice-based claims arising out of an alleged attorney-client relationship involving an attorney, two business associates, and multiple business entities. The Court declines to consider whether an attorney-client relationship existed between the attorney and business entities but does address whether it has subject-matter jurisdiction to hear claims emanating from the alleged relationship. The Court concludes the legal malpractice and fractured malpractice-based claims are improperly before it and, accordingly, dismisses all claims against the attorney-Defendant without prejudice. Granting Plaintiff's motion to remand for untimeliness because the damages which Defendants contend satisfy this Court's jurisdictional requirement were facially pleaded more than thirty days before Defendants removed the case to Business Court. Remanding Defendants' motion for sanctions to district court. The Court addresses whether the Texas Legislature's amount-in-controversy threshold reduction gives the Texas Business Court jurisdiction to hear a previously remanded action and whether the subsequent removal of the action was proper and timely. The Court examines the st