Background
Philip M. Ross filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals on September 17, 2026. The original proceeding arose from Tonya Barina v. Netflix, Inc., et al., Cause No. 2021-CI-04501, pending before Judge Nadine Melissa Nieto in the 285th Judicial District Court of Bexar County.
Ross also moved for a temporary stay of the underlying proceedings. The memorandum opinion does not describe the challenged trial-court action or the substantive grounds asserted in the mandamus petition.
The Court’s Holding
After considering the petition and the record, the court held that Ross had not established entitlement to mandamus relief. It therefore denied the petition under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 52.8(a).
The court also denied Ross’s motion for temporary relief as moot. The per curiam opinion provided no further analysis of either request.
Key Takeaways
- A relator must establish entitlement to mandamus relief based on the petition and record presented.
- The court denied Ross’s mandamus petition because he failed to make the required showing.
- The motion for temporary relief was denied as moot, not dismissed.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates that a Texas appellate court may summarily deny a mandamus petition when the petition and record do not establish entitlement to relief. Once the court denied the petition, it also denied the related request for a temporary stay as moot.