In re Mary Ann Roser Appeal from 215th District Court of Harris County (memorandum opinion per curiam)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed May 5, 2016. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals NO. 14-16-00065-CV IN RE MARY ANN ROSER, Relator ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 215th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2014-66926 MEMORANDUM OPINION On January 27, 2016, relator Mary Ann Roser filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221 (West 2004); see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, Roser asks this court to compel the Honorable Elaine Palmer, presiding judge of the 215th District Court of Harris County, to set aside the January 12, 2016 order granting the motion to compel the deposition of Roser filed by real party in interest Dr. Joel Joselevitz. Joselevitz sued Carol Roane for breach of a settlement agreement for her statements made to Roser, a journalist, who authored an article that concerned, in part, Joselevitz, which was published in the Austin American-Statesman. Joselevitz also sued Cox Media Group, LLC, which owns the Austin AmericanStatesman, for defamation. Joselevitz seeks to take Roser’s deposition in connection with his claims against Roane and Cox Media. Cox Media filed a motion to dismiss Joselevitz’s claims against it under the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.003 (West 2015). Cox Media’s motion to dismiss was denied by operation of law on April 4, 2016, and Cox Media has appealed the ruling to this court in appellate cause number 14-16-00333-CV. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.005(a), 27.008(a) (West 2015). The trial court’s proceedings, including all discovery and Roser’s deposition, are stayed pending resolution of the interlocutory appeal. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(b) (West Supp. 2015). Accordingly, we deny Roser’s petition for writ of mandamus without prejudice to refiling upon disposition of the appeal of the ruling on Cox Media’s motion to dismiss. PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Boyce and Wise. 2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
