In Re Attune Insurance Services, LLC v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 13th District
Date FiledSeptember 1, 2026
Docket13-26-00468-CV
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NUMBER 13-26-00468-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG
IN RE ATTUNE INSURANCE SERVICES, LLC
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Peña, West and Fonseca
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Fonseca1
By petition for writ of mandamus, relator Attune Insurance Services, LLC (Attune)
asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by denying Attune’s “Amended Rule 91a
Motion to Dismiss Third-Party Claims.” See TEX. R. CIV. P. 91a (governing the dismissal
of “baseless” claims). We deny the petition for writ of mandamus.
1 See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.8(d) (“When denying relief, the court may hand down an opinion but is not
required to do so. When granting relief, the court must hand down an opinion as in any other case.”); id. R.
47.4 (distinguishing opinions and memorandum opinions).
“Mandamus is an ‘extraordinary remedy’ that is ‘available only in limited
circumstances . . . .’” In re Rogers, 728 S.W.3d 717, 719 (Tex. 2026) (orig. proceeding)
(per curiam) (quoting City of Houston v. Hou. Mun. Emps. Pension Sys., 549 S.W.3d 566,
580 (Tex. 2018)). “A writ of mandamus is available to correct a clear abuse of discretion
for which there is no adequate remedy by appeal.” In re Lapuerta, 732 S.W.3d 548, 555
(Tex. 2026) (orig. proceeding). “A court abuses its discretion if no evidence supports the
finding on which its ruling rests and if the court could reasonably have reached only a
contrary conclusion.” In re AutoZoners, LLC, 694 S.W.3d 219, 223 (Tex. 2024) (orig.
proceeding) (per curiam). We conduct a “benefits-and-detriments analysis” to determine
if the relator possesses an adequate remedy at law. In re Auburn Creek Ltd. P’ship, 655
S.W.3d 837, 843 (Tex. 2022) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam). When the trial court abuses
its discretion by denying a Rule 91a motion to dismiss, the movant lacks an adequate
remedy by appeal and thus mandamus review is appropriate. See In re Oncor Elec.
Delivery Co., 716 S.W.3d 525, 530 (Tex. 2025) (orig. proceeding); In re Farmers Tex.
Cnty. Mut. Ins., 621 S.W.3d 261, 266 (Tex. 2021) (orig. proceeding); In re Essex Ins., 450
S.W.3d 524, 528 (Tex. 2014) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam).
The Court, having examined and fully considered the petition for writ of mandamus,
the response filed by real parties in interest Dr. Lena Speck Hopkins and Lena Speck
Hopkins, M.D., P.A., relator’s reply thereto, and the applicable law, is of the opinion that
relator has not met its burden to obtain relief as to its Rule 91a motion to dismiss.
Accordingly, we lift the stay previously imposed in this case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.10(b).
We deny the petition for writ of mandamus. We caution the parties that our ruling herein
is limited to the specific issue before the Court—that is, the propriety of the trial court’s
2
ruling on the Rule 91a motion to dismiss—and is without prejudice to any other
substantive matters that may be raised regarding the third-party claims that gave rise to
this original proceeding.
YSMAEL D. FONSECA
Justice
Delivered and filed on the
1st day of September, 2026.
3