Opinion
05-23-00340-CV
08-25-2023
DOUGLAS EMERY ADAMS, Appellant v. CATAMOUNT PROPERTIES 2018, LLC, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 3 Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 003-00817-2023
Before Justices Pedersen, III, Garcia, and Kennedy
MEMORANDUM OPINION
DENNISE GARCIA JUSTICE
This is an appeal from an order in a forcible detainer lawsuit awarding possession of the subject property to appellee. Before the Court is appellee's motion to dismiss the appeal as moot. Appellee recites in the motion that a writ of possession was served, and appellant is no longer in possession of the property.
The only issue in a forcible detainer suit is the right to immediate possession of the premises. See Olley v. HVM, L.L.C., 449 S.W.3d 572, 575 (Tex. App.- Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. denied). Unless an appellant has a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession, the issue of possession and the case become moot when the appellant is no longer in possession of the premises. See Marshall v. Hous. Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 787, 790 (Tex. 2006). When a case becomes moot on appeal, an appellate court must vacate the trial court's judgment and dismiss the case. See City of Dallas v. Woodfield, 305 S.W.3d 412, 416 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2010, no pet.).
More than ten days have passed since appellee filed its motion to dismiss and appellant has not filed a response. Because nothing in the record before us shows appellant has a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession of the property, we grant appellee's motion, vacate the trial court's April 6, 2023 judgment, and dismiss the case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a); Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 790.
JUDGMENT
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial court's April 6, 2023 judgment and DISMISS the case.
We ORDER that appellee CATAMOUNT PROPERTIES 2018, LLC recover its costs of this appeal from appellant DOUGLAS EMERY ADAMS.