Opinion
NUMBER 13-17-00622-CV
03-15-2018
SYLVIA CHOLICK, Appellant, v. TSPC BROS., LLC, Appellee.
On appeal from the County Court at Law No. 1 of Cameron County, Texas.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Benavides and Longoria
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Longoria
Appellant, Sylvia Cholick, appeals the trial court's final judgment of eviction entered against appellant in a forcible detainer suit. Upon review of the documents before the Court, it appeared that the appeal is moot. On February 8, 2018, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant of this defect so that steps could be taken to correct the defect, if it could be done. See TEX. R. APP. P. 37.1, 42.3. Appellant was advised that, if the defect was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice, the appeal would be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Appellant has not filed a response.
"The only issue in an action for forcible detainer is the right to actual possession of the premises, and the merits of title shall not be adjudicated." Wilhelm v. Fannie Mae, 349 S.W.3d 766, 768 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (citing Tex. R. Civ. P. 746; Marshall v. Housing Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 785 (Tex. 2006)). Although the failure to supersede a forcible-detainer judgment does not divest a defendant of his right to appeal when the defendant is no longer in possession of the premises, an appeal from the judgment in that case is moot unless the defendant asserts a "potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession." Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 787; Wilhelm, 349 S.W.3d at 768.
On March 8, 2018, appellees filed an opposed motion to dismiss the appeal as moot, stating that a writ of possession has been executed and appellant is no longer in possession of the property. Absent any assertion of a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession, we dismiss the appeal as moot. See Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 787; Wilhelm, 349 S.W.3d at 768.
NORA L. LONGORIA
Justice Delivered and filed the 15th day of March, 2018.