Summary
dismissing appeal for want of jurisdiction because trial court's order entered after separate trial in divorce case was not appealable for reason that divorce petition was still pending in trial court
Summary of this case from Local Telecom SVC v. ForsbergOpinion
No. 02-03-247-CV.
Delivered: October 2, 2003.
Appeal from the 360th District Court of Tarrant County.
Attorney for Appellant: Keith Brian Kozura of Denton, TX.
Attorney for Appellee: Patricia K. White of Fort Worth, TX.
PANEL D: LIVINGSTON, DAUPHINOT, and HOLMAN, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
Appellee filed a petition for divorce on June 25, 2003. On July 22, 2003, the trial court held a separate trial to determine whether a common law marriage existed. The trial court signed an order on August 5, 2003 finding the existence of a common law marriage. Appellant attempts to appeal from that order. Appellee's divorce petition is still pending in the trial court.
An order rendered after a separate trial is interlocutory until all the claims and issues in the suit have been litigated. Van Dyke v. Boswell, O'Toole, Davis Pickering, 697 S.W.2d 381, 383 (Tex. 1985); Hall v. City of Austin, 450 S.W.2d 836, 838 (Tex. 1970). Thus, the August 5 order is interlocutory. In addition, the order does not fall within one of the categories of appealable interlocutory orders under section 51.014 of the civil practice and remedies code. Tex. Civ. Prac. Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014 (Vernon Supp. 2003). Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Stary v. DeBord, 967 S.W.2d 352, 352-53 (Tex. 1998).