BEAUMONT — A Texas Court of Appeals has affirmed the ruling of a trial court that denied the dismissal of a trespassing claim against a Texas man using a building on land leased by the Port Arthur Patrolmen's Hunting Club.
According to the August 29 State of Texas Court of Appeals for the Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont filing, the appellant Troy Shiflet lost his appeal of a suit filed by the appellee Port Arthur Patrolmen's Hunting Club.
In March of 2016, the Club filed a suit against Shiflet and was granted a temporary injunction to stop Shiflet from accessing a building on the Club's property. Shiflet then filed a motion to dismiss claiming protection under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA). The Club argues Shiflet's motion was "untimely" because it was filed 61 days after an amended petition was filed by the Club. While a trial court took the matter under advisement, 30 days passed, and the motion was denied by operation of law, according to the Appeals Court filing.
"Given the evidence in this case, we hold that the trial court had a basis for refusing to grant Shiflet’s motion to dismiss, as it would not have been unreasonable for the trial court to have determined that the first amended petition was served upon Shiflet on October 24, 2018, and that Shiflet was required to file his motion to dismiss on or before October 23, 2018," Chief Justice Steve McKeithen wrote in the Appeals Court's decision.
"Because Shiflet’s motion to dismiss was untimely, we conclude that the trial court did not err in refusing to grant the motion," Chief Justice McKeithen wrote.