BEAUMONT – Parties hoping to challenge rulings from the 172nd District Court continue to find little to no success at the Ninth Court of Appeals, as justices once again have affirmed Judge Mitch Templeton.
Court records show Kevin Reed and Elizabeth Crawford had appealed Judge Templeton’s ruling granting partial summary judgment in favor of Kathy Cleveland, owner of Keller Williams Realty.
On Nov. 12, justices affirmed Judge Templeton’s decision to dismiss Reed and Crawford’s claim for malicious prosecution against Cleveland and her company.
“Since there is no evidence in the record to support the causation element of Appellants’ malicious prosecution claim, the trial court properly granted Appellees’ no-evidence motion for summary judgment on that ground,” the opinion states. “Having concluded at least one meritorious no-evidence summary judgment ground exists, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.”
From the time he was elected in 2018, Judge Templeton has had seven out of seven rulings affirmed on appeal.
Case background
Reed previously worked as a realtor for Keller Williams in Beaumont. Crawford had been employed as the Keller Williams Market Center Administrator. Her job duties included bookkeeping, accounting, and accepting payments from realtors for the broker (Cleveland).
Per the terms of Reed’s contract as a realtor with Keller Williams, he was to pay monthly rent and expenses for use of the office. In 2012, Reed fell behind and missed several monthly rental payments.
In May 2013, allegedly unbeknownst to Reed, Crawford entered a credit in his account for $2,836.60. Crawford claimed the credit was a mistake, and she was not trying to deceive anyone by allowing Reed to not pay several monthly invoices for 2012.
In early July 2013, Cleveland went to the Beaumont Police Department with allegations that Reed and Crawford conspired to hide how much money Reed owed.
The State ultimately dropped the charges citing a lack of evidence of criminal intent.
Appeal case No. 09-19-00136-CV