### TEXA S C OU R T OF A PPEAL S, THIR D DIST R ICT , AT AU STIN

NO. 03-0 8 -00 737 -CV

P lus S M S Ho lding s Li m it e d; No r th Am e r ic a C RE 8, Inc .; CRE8 L im it e d; Ca r los P ulla s; Julio Castellon; Chris Horn; Robert Hunter and Clive Thomas , Appellan ts
v. Christopher Tiensch , Appellee

F ROM THE DISTRICT CO URT OF TRAVIS COUNTY , 353RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT NO. D-1- GN-08- 0038 41 , HO NORAB LE ORLI NDA NARAN JO , JUDGE PRESIDI NG

M E MO R

A N D UM O P I N I O N On Dec emb er

2 , 2 0 0 8 , ap p el l an t s P l u s S M S Ho l d i n gs L imited; North America CRE8, Inc.; CRE8 L imited; C arlos Pullas; J ulio Castellon; C hris Horn; R obert Hunter and Cl ive Thomas fi le d th e ir no tic e of int e rl oc uto ry

a pp e a l of the tr ia l c ourt ’s or de r gra nti nga te mpo ra ry inj un c tio n in favor of appe llee Christopher Ti en s ch. On April 27, 2009, appellee f iled a motion to remand the
cause to the trial court f

or a he aringon appellants’ a lleg ed violation s o f the tempora ry -injunction order . On April 30, appe llants provided this Court with notice that the lawsuit underly ing the appea l ha d b e e n r e mov e d to the Un ite d St ate s D istri c t Co ur t f or the Wes te rn

Di stric t of

Te xas, Au sti n Di vis ion . App e lla

nts the re a ft e r f

ile d a mot ion to d ism iss a

pp e lle e ’s mot ion to re mand the c a us e to the tr ia l c ourt

fo r f ur the r p ro c e e din g s.

“ On c e re mov a l is e ff

e c te d, ‘t he State c ourt

sh a ll p ro c e e d n o f

ur the r u nle ss a nd until the ca se is rema

nded.’” Mey erland Co. v

. Fede ral D eposit Ins. Corp. , 8 4 8 S. W. 2 d 8 2 , 8 3 ( T e x.Appellee acknow ledg es that the c ause is now pe nding be fore the federa l district judge , but 1 no ne the le ss a sse rt s th at “t hi s Court and the state dis tr ic t c ourt

re ta in j ur isd ic tio n a ft e r r e mov a l to issue sanctions and contempt order s for pre- remova l c onduct that occur red in state c ourt,” re lying on In reBe nn e tt , 960 S.W .2d 35 (Tex. 1997). In Be nn e tt , the supreme court held that a state c ourt has jurisdiction to consider, sua sponte , post-remova l sanct ions ag ainst an attorne y “whe n the sanctions are unrelated to the merits of the r emoved c ase.” Id. at 36. In this c ase, howeve r, the orde r that the appe llants are a lleg ed to have violated, now pending before the fe dera l district court, is not “unre lated to the merits of the re moved ca se,” but, a s appellant himself a cknowledg es in his motion for tempor ary

rema nd, “ is the basis of the appeal befor e this Court.” (Emphasis adde d.) 2 1993) (c iting 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d)). Re moval to fede ral c ourt suspends the state a ppellate timetable, see Q uaestor Invs., I

nc. v. Chiapas , 997 S.W .2d 226, 229 (Tex. 1999), and stay s any further action by the state a

ppellate c ourt, se eW

e av e r v . To bin , N o . 0 3
- 0 3
- 0 0 5 7 3
- C V , 2 0 0 3 T e x . Ap p . LE X IS 10 33 5 ( Te x. Ap p. —Aus tin De c . 1 1, 20 03 , n o pet .) (m em. op. ); EO G R eso urc es, In c . v . V e la , No. 04 -02 -00 16 8-C V, 2 00 3 T ex . Ap p. L EXI S 68 84 (Tex . Ap p. —S an A nt on io Aug. 13, 2 00 3) (m e m. op.). When a c ase is re moved to f eder al court, it is deeme d that all litigation pre viously perf ormed in state court ha d in fac t been pe rfor med i n fede ral c ourt. Stroud v. VBFSB Holding Corp. , 9 1 7 S
. W
. 2 d

7 5 , 8 4 (T ex . 1 9 9 6 ) ( ci t i n g First Republic Bank v . Norglass, Inc. , 9 5 8 F
. 2 d 1 1 7, 119 (5th Cir. 1992)). Parties c annot t h er ef o re s eek to e nforc e orde rs pre viously enter ed in state c ourt once that court has be en divested of jurisdiction. See id. 1 Acc ording ly , we must abate this appea l. See M eye rland , 848 S
. W
. 2 d at 8 3. The appea l will be reinstated if a nd when jurisdiction re vests in the state cour t, which occ urs “whe n the fede ral district cour

t executes the re mand orde r and m ai l s a ce rtified copy to the state cour

t.” Qu ae sto r I nv s. , 997 S.W .2d at 229.3 J . Woodfin J ones, Chief Just ice

Be fore Chief J ustice Jones, J ustices Puryear and He nson Abated Filed: June 10, 2009