September 1, 2023 was a significant date for permissive interlocutory appeals in Texas. For the first time, intermediate appellate courts declining to accept a permissive interlocutory appeal were required to give a “specific reason for finding that the appeal is not warranted[.]” TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 51.014(g). Where does Texas jurisprudence stand about fourteen months later?

The sample size is, predictably, small. While appellate practitioners should be mindful of the reasons that appellate courts have denied permissive appeals, any examination of these opinions necessarily must include the disclaimer that predicting any trends at this early stage is a fool’s errand.

This article will start with the basic jurisprudential background. It will then discuss the reasons that appellate courts have denied permission for an interlocutory appeal after the trial court has granted permission. It will end with statistics on the number of permissive appeal decisions in each of the appellate courts in Texas.

Read the full article in the the Spring 2025 edition of The Appellate Advocate, the professional journal published three times a year by the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas.