In Re Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

In this mandamus proceeding, we decide whether a trial judge may set aside a venue transfer order one year after signing the order because one of several defendants declared bankruptcy. We hold that the trial judge did not have jurisdiction to set aside the venue transfer order and conditionally grant the writ.

In 1995, Donald Saleh was killed in a car accident in Conway County, Arkansas. Dorothy Saleh, Donald’s mother, was named administratrix of her son’s will. Saleh sued a number of defendants, including Southwestern Bell and Builders Transport, in Refugio County, Texas, for her son’s…