In Re Laura De Leon v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 13th District
Date FiledJuly 31, 2026
Docket13-26-00541-CV
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NUMBER 13-26-00541-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG
IN RE LAURA DE LEON
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Tijerina and Justices Silva and Cron
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Cron1
By petition for writ of mandamus, relator Laura De Leon asserts that the trial court
abused its discretion by: (1) issuing an order against Maria Christina Nieto when Nieto
was not represented by counsel at a hearing; (2) issuing an order against Nieto on the
day that she was served with citation; and (3) issuing an order against relator and Nieto
when a motion had not been set for hearing and without three days’ notice of a hearing.
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).
The Court, having examined and fully considered the petition for writ of mandamus,
the responses filed by Nieto and real party in interest Desi De Leon, the record, and the
applicable law, is of the opinion that relator has not met her burden to obtain relief.
Accordingly, we deny relator’s request for temporary relief, which we previously ordered
to be carried with the case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 52.10(b). We deny the petition for writ of
mandamus.
JENNY CRON
Justice
Delivered and filed on the
31st day of July, 2026.
2