CAUSE NO. 04-15-00548-CV 

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 

FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT 

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 

RUFINA REYES YANEZ, 

Appellant 

v. 

AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, 

Appellee 

FROM THE 341 ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, WEBB COUNTY, TEXAS 

TRIAL COURT NO. 2014CVF000504-D3 

HONORABLE REBECCA RAMIREZ PALOMO, JUDGE PRESIDING 

MOTION TO REINSTATE APPEAL 

TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS: 

Comes Now Appellant, RUFINA REYES YANEZ, asking the Honorable 

Court of Appeals to reinstate her appeal, which was dismissed on October 28, 

2015, for want of prosecution. In support thereof Appellant shows: 

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ACCEPTED

04-15-00548-CV

FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

11/13/2015 4:43:18 PM

KEITH HOTTLE

CLERK

 FILED IN 4th COURT OF APPEALS SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 11/13/2015 4:43:18 PM KEITH E. HOTTLE Clerk
1. As evidenced by this motion and the attached affidavit, good cause 

exists for reinstating the appeal. In Verbugt v.Dormer, 959 s.w. 2d 615, 616-17 

(Tex. 1997), the Texas Supreme Court said: 

" This court has never wavered from the principal that appellate courts 

should not dismiss an appeal for a procedural defect whenever any arguable, 

interpretation of the Rules of Appellate Procedure would preserve the appeal. .. We 

have repeatedly instructed the courts of appeals to construe the Rules of Appellate 

Procedure reasonable yet liberally, so that the right to appeal is not lost by 

imposing requirements not absolutely necessary to effect the purpose of a rule." 

2. The motion complies with Rule 25.1(g) of the Texas Rules of 

Appellate Procedure. See also Sweed v. Nye, 323 S. W. 3rd 873, 874 (Tex. 2010); 

Warwick Towers Council of Co-owners v. Park Warwick. L.P., 244 S. W. 3rd 838, 

839 (Tex. 2008). 

3. During the past few months Appellant's attorney has suffered from ill 

health, including migraine headaches so severe that they cause him to miss work 

and a recent episode while in court that cause him to seek medical intervention. 

Additionally, the legal assistant/secretary of Appellant's attorney has been 

suffering from anxiety attacks the last two months that have resulted in frequent 

absences from work and failure to attend to assigned tasks. See Appellanf s 

affidavit, attached as Exhibit A to this motion. 

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4. Appellant's counsel has also been deeply involved in a multi-vehicle 

accident which resulted in six deaths and injuries to others, and in which discovery 

has been extensive, with more than twenty-five attorneys and more than 30 

plaintiffs involved, Cause No. 15-01-13556, filed in the 193rd District Court of 

Zavala County, Texas, and styled as David Rodriguez and Maribel Rodriguez, et 

aI., v. Rose Rock Midstream Field Services, LLC, et al. 

5. Appellant has a meritorious appeal. This case involves Appellee's 

failure to pay the insurance proceeds of a life insurance policy to Appellant 

promptly. Appellee filed a motion for summary judgment and other pleadings 

untruthfully stating that Appellee did not learn until late 2012 that Appellant's 

husband had died. Appellant filed a motion pursuant to Rule 201 of the Texas 

Rules of Evidence for the trial court to take mandatory judicial notice of 

information and documents which ineluctably proved that Appellee and its 

attorneys had learned on November 1, 2001, and in February of 2002, that JULIO 

had died on May 26, 2001. The trial Court failed to take the mandatory judicial 

notice. Appellant has ordered the Reporter's Record of the July 15,2015, hearing 

on the motion for mandatory judicial notice of adjudicative facts and has asked the 

District Clerk to prepare and file a Supplemental Clerk's Record. 

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7. If the motion to reinstate the appeal is denied Appellant will have to 

file a petition for review with the Texas Supreme Court or will have to file a 

petition for a bill of review in the 341 st District Court. 

8. PRAYER. Premises considered, Appellant RUFINA REYES 

YANEZ asks the Honorable Court of Appeals: 

a. To enter an order reinstating the appeal; and 

b. To enter an order extending the time for Appellant to file her 

brief until 30 days after the Appellate Record has been completed. 

ARMANDO TREVINO 

Attorney At Law 

State Bar No. 20211100 

1519 Washington St, Suite # 1. 

Laredo, Texas 78040 

Telephone No. (956) 726-1638 

Email: 9c1l113ndQ....!.IT_.{u1oliiW(~lihotlIEUl.com 

Attorney For Appellant 

17A Subscribed and sworn to before me on the V day of November, 2015, by 

Armando Trevino, Attorney for Appellant. 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I certify that on November t1 , 2015, I served a copy of the Motion 

To Reinstate Appeal was sent via hand-delivery or e-service to JASON A. 

RICHARDSON, EDISON, McDOWELL & HETHERINGTON LLP, 3200 

Southwest Freeway, Suite 2100, Houston, Texas 77027, 

iason.richardson@emhllp.com, Webb County District Clerk's office Esther 

Degollado, and Ana Alcantar. 

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EXHIBIT A 
AFFIDAVIT OF ARMANDO TREVINO 

STATE OF TEXAS § 

COUNTY OF WEBB § 

My name is Armando Trevifio. I am fully competent to make this affidavit 

based upon my personal knowledge of the facts stated herein. All of the facts are 

true and correct. Upon my oath and on penalty of perjury I depose as follows: 

1. I am the attorney for Appellant RUFINA REYES YANEZ. 

2. During the last few months I have suffered from debilitating migraine 

headaches that have caused me to miss work. A few days ago, while in Court, I 

suffered an attack of vertigo and had to seek medical intervention. My physician 

opinioned that I was under severe stress. 

3. Julie Brewster has been my paralegal/legal secretary for many years. 

During the last two months she has suffered from anxiety/panic attacks which have 

caused her to miss work and to accomplish her assigned tasks. 

4. I am the attorney for Carmen Veyro Costales, mother of Sergio Javier 

Veyro, Sr., in Cause No. I5-0I-I3355-CV, filed in the I93rd Judicial District Court 

of Zavala County, Texas. Sergio was fatally injured on January 15, 2015, in a 

multi-fatality, multi-vehicle accident. Discovery is ongoing and to date I have 

boxes of discovery motions, responses to discovery, expert reports, and 

depositions. 

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5. I seek reinstatement of this Appeal so thatjus~ce may be done. 

;/ 

Armando Trevino 

# 

Subscribed and sworn to before me on the /3 day of November, 2015, by 

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