Opinion
01-22-00518-CV
12-29-2022
TOM JOHNS, Appellant v. ALBERT E. SMITH & UNKNOWN HEIRS OF ALBERT E. SMITH, MYRTLE V. SMITH & UNKNOWN HEIRS OF MYRTLE V. SMITH; GULLESE SCOTT, Appellees
On Appeal from the 129th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2019-83040
Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Countiss and Rivas-Molloy.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM
Appellant, Tom Johns, pro se, attempts to appeal from the trial court's various interlocutory orders. We dismiss.
In its operative pleading, the first amended petition, appellee Gullese Scott brought claims for trespass to try title, suit to quiet title, and sought declaratory judgment against Albert E. Smith, Myrtle V. Smith and all of their unknown heirs (the "Smith Defendants") regarding a property at 4301 Verdome Ln. in Houston, Texas. Appellant intervened in the suit, claiming that he was the owner of the property. On February 21, 2022, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of appellee, stating that appellant had no interest, title or right to the property and that appellant's rights, if any, were inferior to the rights of appellee. The order specifically stated that it was interlocutory. Appellant moved for a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied on July 1, 2022.
On July 8, 2022, appellant filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's order denying his motion for new trial, and the trial court's order granting appellee's motion for summary judgment. On September 27, 2022, appellee filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction because the trial court had not rendered a final judgment that disposed of all parties and claims. On September 28, 2022, appellant filed a response to the motion to dismiss, making various arguments as to why this Court has jurisdiction.
Appellant's arguments primarily criticize appellee's motion to dismiss or are not supported by authority. Appellant does cite to section 51.014(c) and (d), but these sections are not applicable to this appeal. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. &REM. CODE § 51.014(c) (detailing automatic stay provisions), (d) (detailing permissive appeal provisions).
Generally, a Texas appellate court has jurisdiction to consider only an appeal from a final judgment. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); N.E. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d 893, 895 (Tex. 1966). To be final, a judgment must dispose of all issues and parties in a case. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d at 895. A summary judgment order is final for purposes of appeal only if it either "actually disposes of all claims and parties then before the court . . . or it states with unmistakable clarity that it is a final judgment as to all claims and all parties." Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 192-93; see N.Y. Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Sanchez, 799 S.W.2d 677, 678-79 (Tex. 1990) ("In the absence of a special statute making an interlocutory order appealable, a judgment must dispose of all issues and parties in the case, including those presented by counterclaim or cross action, to be final and appealable."); see also TEX. CIV. PRAC. &REM. CODE § 51.014 (statutory list of appealable interlocutory orders).
Here, the trial court's February 21, 2022 order disposes of appellant's claims against appellee and states that it is interlocutory. The interlocutory order did not dispose of the claims between appellee and the Smith defendants. Because the claims asserted by appellee against the Smith defendants were not adjudicated by the February 21, 2022 order, the record does not contain a final judgment or other appealable order. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 192-93, 205; see also V.I.P. Royal Palace, LLC v. Hobby Event Ctr. LLC, No. 01-18-00621-CV, 2020 WL 3579563, at *4 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] July 2, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.) ("Because the trial court's . . . order does not actually dispose of all claims and all parties, it is interlocutory and not final...."). Accordingly, we grant appellee's motion to dismiss and dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(A). WE DISMISS ANY PENDING MOTIONS AS MOOT.