CHRIS GARNER v. KATHLEEN L. GINTHER, ET AL.--Appeal from 135th District Court of De Witt County

NUMBER 13-04-042-CV

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

___________________________________________________________________

CHRIS GARNER,  Appellant,

v.

KATHLEEN L. GINTHER, ET AL.,   Appellees.

___________________________________________________________________

On appeal from the 135th District Court

of DeWitt County, Texas.

__________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Hinojosa and Rodriguez

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Rodriguez

Appellant, Chris Garner, brings this appeal following the dismissal of his case as frivolous pursuant to chapter 14 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ' 14.001 et seq. (Vernon 2002). By one issue, appellant contends the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing his case. We affirm. As this is a memorandum opinion and the parties are familiar with the facts, we will not recite them here except as necessary to advise the parties of the Court's decision and the basic reasons for it. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The trial court has broad discretion under chapter 14 to dismiss a lawsuit as frivolous or malicious. Thomas v. Knight, 52 S.W.3d 292, 294 (Tex. App.BCorpus Christi 2001, pet. denied); see Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ' 14.003(a)(2). We review a trial court's dismissal of an inmate's lawsuit under an abuse of discretion standard. Thomas, 52 S.W.3d at 294. To establish an abuse of discretion, the complaining party must show the trial court's action was arbitrary or unreasonable in light of all the circumstances in the case. Id.

II. ANALYSIS

After reviewing the record, we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing this case because appellant failed to comply with the procedural requirements of chapter 14. An inmate filing a lawsuit governed by chapter 14 must file an affidavit or declaration identifying each suit previously brought by the person. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ' 14.004(a). The affidavit or declaration must describe each previous suit by stating (1) the operative facts for which relief was sought, (2) the case name, cause number, and the court in which the suit was brought, (3) each party named in the suit, and (4) the result of the suit. Id. The record shows that appellant did file a declaration entitled APlaintiff Garner=s Separate Declaration of Previous Filings.@ However, this declaration failed to list all cause numbers, failed to list each party named in one of the previous lawsuits, and failed to state the operative facts upon which each lawsuit was based. When an inmate fails to supply the trial court with the information required by section 14.004, the court is entitled to presume that the current suit is frivolous or malicious and to dismiss the suit. White v. State of Texas, 37 S.W.3d 562, 565 (Tex. App.BBeaumont 2001, no writ). Thus, we find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting appellees= motion to dismiss. Appellant=s sole issue is overruled.

III. CONCLUSION

Accordingly, the order of the trial court is affirmed.

NELDA V. RODRIGUEZ

Justice

Memorandum Opinion delivered and

filed this 30th day of June, 2005.