Original Mandamus Proceeding
The company was founded by the father of the petitioner and his brother, with shares issued to family members or family trusts. In 2008, petitioner filed suit in Harris County against the company, brother, and others, alleging that the defendants wrongfully issued shares to increase their holdings and voting power. The company filed suit against the petitioner in Gregg County, claiming the petitioner had interfered with the company’s contract to refinance existing indebtedness. The company abandoned all causes of action except for breach of fiduciary duty. The petitioner’s filing of the Harris County lawsuit was alleged to be a breach of fiduciary duty by filing the Harris County suit to interfere with a specific business project being pursued by the company. The petitioner filed a plea in abatement in the Gregg County suit, to have that court abate its proceedings in favor of the proceeding in Harris County. The trial court denied the plea, and the appellate court denied the petitioner’s petition for writ of mandamus to compel the Gregg County court to abate. In denying mandamus relief, the court pointed out the record did not indicate any interference by the Gregg County trial court on the actions of the Harris County trial court, thus, the court found the relators had an adequate remedy by appeal. The petitioner re-urged his plea for abatement or dismissal to the trial court, which denied the motion once again. The petitioner then sought mandamus relief from the instant Court, claiming that the Gregg County trial court had interfered with the Harris County court’s suit. Having found the two suits were not inherently interrelated, the Gregg County court had neither acted to interfere with the jurisdiction or actions of the Harris County court, nor was the company’s cause of action a compulsory counterclaim to the petitioner’s suit. Accordingly, the court found that the petitioner had not shown entitlement to the requested relief. Accordingly, the petition was denied.