From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

BENNETT v. LEAS

Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi
Mar 17, 2005
No. 13-04-362-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2005)

Opinion

No. 13-04-362-CV

Memorandum Opinion Delivered and Filed: March 17, 2005.

On appeal from County Court at Law No. 4 of Hidalgo County, Texas.

Before Justices HINOJOSA, YAÑEZ, and GARZA.


MEMORANDUM OPINION


Robert S. Bennett, Individually, and The Bennett Law Firm, P.C. ("Bennett"), attempts to appeal an order granting a motion to abate filed by appellee, Stephen T. Leas. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

The trial court granted appellee's motion to abate and, by order dated June 10, 2004, abated the proceedings below pending the resolution of related cases and appeals. Bennett filed a notice of appeal on July 9, 2004. The Clerk of this Court subsequently notified the parties that it appeared the Court did not have jurisdiction due to the absence of an appealable order. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3. Bennett failed to filed a response.

Unless an interlocutory appeal is specifically authorized by statute, this Court has no jurisdiction; our jurisdiction is limited to final judgments. See Qwest Communications Corp. v. ATT Corp., 24 S.W.3d 334, 335 (Tex. 2000); Northeast Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d 893, 895 (1966). An order of abatement is not an authorized interlocutory appeal. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(1)-(10) (Vernon Supp. 2004-05).

Pursuant to Section 51.014(d), a district court may issue a written order for interlocutory appeal in a civil action not otherwise appealable under section 51.014 if the parties agree that the order involves a controlling question of law, an immediate appeal may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation, and the parties agree to the order. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(d) (Vernon Supp. 2004-05). The trial court has not issued an order permitting an interlocutory appeal. Further section 51.014(d) does not authorize an appellate court to permit an interlocutory appeal. In the absence of an appealable order, we lack jurisdiction of this appeal. Therefore, the appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION.


Summaries of

BENNETT v. LEAS

Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi
Mar 17, 2005
No. 13-04-362-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2005)
Case details for

BENNETT v. LEAS

Case Details

Full title:ROBERT S. BENNETT, INDIVIDUALLY, ET AL., Appellants v. STEPHEN T. LEAS…

Court:Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi

Date published: Mar 17, 2005

Citations

No. 13-04-362-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2005)

Citing Cases

Nagata v. MHWirth Inc.

; Bennett v. Leas, No. 13-04-362-CV, 2005 WL 608289, at *1 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi-Edinburg Mar. 17,…

In re Miller

We may not ignore the clear language of the probate court's abatement order and effectively rewrite that…