Opinion
14-24-00391-CV
07-30-2024
CAROLYN R. DAWSON, Appellant v. KEVIN J. PAKEHAM, Appellee
On Appeal from the 434th Judicial District Court Fort Bend County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 20-DCV-279119
Panel consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Spain and Poissant.
ABATEMENT ORDER
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from an order signed May 24, 2024. The order does not contain language of finality. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 206 (Tex. 2001). Appellee filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. That motion remains pending. The Texas Supreme Court has advised that if an appellate court is uncertain about the intent of an order to finally dispose of all claims and parties, it can abate the appeal to permit clarification by the trial court. See id.
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 27.2 provides as follows:
The appellate court may allow an appealed order that is not final to be modified so as to be made final and may allow the modified order and all proceedings relating to it to be included in a supplemental record.Tex. R. App. P. 27.2.
Accordingly, we order the case abated and remanded to the trial court for a period of sixty days so that the trial court may clarify whether the summary judgment is final and to modify its order so as to be made final, if the trial court is so inclined. See Lehman, 39 S.W.3d at 206 ("If the appellate court is uncertain about the intent of the order, it can abate the appeal to permit clarification by the trial court."); Tex.R.App.P. 27.2 (allowing trial court to modify an interlocutory order so as to be made final). The trial court clerk is ordered to prepare certify and file in this court a supplemental clerk's record with the trial court's order clarifying the underlying order granting summary judgment and any other orders signed by the trial court in relation to this court's order within sixty days of this order. We will rule on appellee's motion to dismiss upon receipt of the trial court clerk's supplemental clerk's record. If the trial court declines to modify the interlocutory order, we must dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.
The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this court's active docket. The appeal will be reinstated on this court's active docket when the supplemental clerk's record is filed in this court. The court will also consider an appropriate motion to reinstate the appeal filed by either party, or the court may reinstate the appeal on its own motion. It is the responsibility of any party seeking reinstatement to request a hearing date from the trial court and to schedule a hearing, if a hearing is required, in compliance with this court's order. If the parties do not request a hearing, the court coordinator of the trial court shall set a hearing date and notify the parties of such date.