In Re Guillermo Mercado and Minerva Mercado v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 8th District (El Paso)
Date FiledMay 15, 2026
Docket08-26-00141-CV
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
COURT OF APPEALS
EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EL PASO, TEXAS
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No. 08-26-00141-CV
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In re Guillermo Mercado and Minerva Mercado
AN ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN MANDAMUS
M E MO RA N D UM O PI NI O N
Guillermo Mercado and Minerva Mercado filed a Notice of Accelerated Appeal on April
7, 2026, stating they were appealing from an “Order Granting Motion to Expunge Lis Pendens”
and contending this was an accelerated appeal authorized by § 12.0071(c) of the Texas Property
Code.1
On April 9, 2026, we notified the Mercados that it appeared the trial court’s order was
neither a final judgment nor an appealable interlocutory order, and as such, we would lack
jurisdiction over the appeal. We informed them that the appeal may be dismissed if they failed to
show how this Court has jurisdiction over this appeal.
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A file-stamped copy of the trial court’s order, filed in this Court with the Notice of Appeal, reflects that the trial court
signed an order on April 1, 2026, expunging and canceling a notice of lis pendens filed by the Mercados.
The Mercados filed a response on April 15, 2026, in which they asserted that “Texas law
expressly provides for appellate review of lis pendens expunction orders.” They alternatively
requested that, if we determined that we lack jurisdiction over the appeal, we treat this proceeding
as a petition for writ of mandamus.
On April 21, 2026, we determined that we lacked jurisdiction over the attempted appeal.
However, we granted the Mercados’ request to treat their filing as a petition for writ of mandamus
and, because no petition had yet been filed, ordered them to file a petition for writ of mandamus
that complies with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.3 by May 11, 2026. We also warned them
that this case would be dismissed if they failed to timely file a mandamus petition. To date, the
Mercados have not filed a petition for writ of mandamus.
To the extent the Mercados seek to appeal from the trial court’s judgment expunging their
notice of lis pendens, we lack jurisdiction over the appeal. See Margetis v. Bayview Loan Serv.,
LLC, 553 S.W.3d 643, 645 (Tex. App.—Waco 2018, no pet.) (“Therefore, because there is no
statutory authority for an appeal of an interlocutory order expunging notices of lis pendens, we do
not have jurisdiction over this complaint.”); Smith v. Schwartz, No. 02-15-00146-CV, 2015 WL
3645862 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth June 11, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.) (per curiam) (dismissing
appeal from interlocutory order expunging notices of lis pendens for want of jurisdiction); see also
In re Gaudet, 625 S.W.3d 887, 891 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2021, orig. proceeding) (stating that “[i]t
is well settled that mandamus is the appropriate remedy when issues arise concerning the propriety
of a notice of lis pendens” and considering a challenge to an order expunging a notice of lis pendens
in a mandamus proceeding).
To the extent we construe this proceeding as a petition for writ of mandamus, the Mercados
have failed to file a petition that complies with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 52.3 and 52.7.
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As a result, they have not shown that they are entitled to mandamus relief. See, e.g., In re
Hernandez, No. 08-23-00160-CV, 2023 WL 4146281, at *1 (Tex. App.—El Paso June 23, 2023,
orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
We dismiss the Mercados attempted appeal for want of jurisdiction. We conclude that the
Mercados have failed to establish a right to mandamus relief and deny the petition for writ of
mandamus in the alternative. We dismiss any pending motions as moot.
LISA J. SOTO, Justice
May 15, 2026
Before Salas Mendoza, C.J., Palafox and Soto, JJ.
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