Dallas' downtown civil courthouse was understandably closed for business on July 8, 2016, as police investigated a nearby sniper shooting that killed five of its officers. But that tragedy didn't excuse one Dallas civil judge from failing to holding a hearing in a case, according a recent appellate court decision.

That background to the case, according to the Dallas Fifth Court of Appeals decision in Ramirez v. Andresen, is as follows:

The case involves a personal injury auto wreck that was filed in 2014 before 298th State District Judge Emily Tobolowsky. Both parties announced ready for trial for an August 2015 trial, but the case was not reached and was reset until March 2016.