Avoid the Siren Song of Interlocutory Appeal

Desperate to hear the fabled song of the Sirens, but knowing full well that they steered sailors toward the rocks, Odysseus told his crew:

“[T]ake me and bind me to the crosspiece half way up the mast; bind me as I stand upright, with a bond so fast that I cannot possibly break away, and lash the rope’s ends to the mast itself. If I beg and pray you to set me free, then bind me more tightly still.”

He survived. Not so, the appellants in Bienati v. Cloister Holdings, LLC, who disclosed during argument that:

“… because the probable right to recovery issue could impact the merits of the entire case, the trial court ‘abated it until this Court weighed in on the merits of the temporary injunction and whether there’s a probable right to recovery.”

The court of appeals held: “We have repeatedly disapproved the practice of postponing the trial on the merits of a case to obtain a ruling on the appeal of a temporary injunction. This practice not only delays the ultimate resolution of the merits of the parties’ dispute but wastes judicial resources.” It thus dismissed the appeal. No. 05-22-00324-CV (Feb. 10, 2023) (mem. op.).