Opinion
05-21-01021-CV
01-10-2022
FOCUSED POST ACUTE CARE PARTNERS MANAGEMENT, LLC, Appellant v. RELIANT PRO REHAB, LLC D/B/A RELIANT REHABILITATION V, Appellee
On Appeal from the 471st Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 471-03883-2020
ORDER
KEN MOLBERG JUSTICE
This appeal follows the trial court's October 25, 2021 order granting appellee's first amended traditional motion for summary judgment on its claims against appellant. The order awards appellee over $3,000,000 in damages with accrued interest as of October 4, 2021 and reasonable attorney's fees and costs accrued as of October 25, 2021 in the amount of $44,331.30. In addition, the order recites as follows:
It is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED Plaintiff shall take Judgment against Defendant Focused Care Partners Management, LLC for interest accruing on the amounts due and owing under the Therapy Services Agreement since October 25, 2021, Plaintiffs additional reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred since October 25, 2021, and Plaintiffs reasonable attorneys' fees and costs it will incur to defend an appeal for this matter, in an amount to be determined at trial.
All relief not expressly granted herein is denied.
This Order is intended to be a final order and judgment which finally disposes of all issues and all claims against all parties.
It is well-settled that a summary judgment is not final for purposes of appeal "unless it actually disposes of every pending claim and party or . . . clearly and unequivocally states that it finally disposes of all claims and all parties." See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 205 (Tex. 2001). When the language of an appealed order is ambiguous, an appellate court may abate the appeal to permit the trial court to clarify the intent of its order. See id. at 206.
The judgment here appears ambiguous, leaving matters pending for trial but also adjudicating all claims. Accordingly, we REMAND the cause to the trial court so it can clarify its intent. If the trial court intended its dismissal order to be a final and appealable judgment that disposes of all claims and all parties, it shall modify the order to make that intention clear. If the trial court did not render a final judgment, it shall certify so in writing and state what claims remain pending. The trial court shall then cause the modified order or certification be included in a supplemental clerk's record to be filed in the Court no later than February 9, 2022.
We SUSPEND the deadline for filing the reporter's record.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Andrea K. Bouressa, Presiding Judge of the 471st Judicial District Court; Collin County District Clerk Lynne Finley; Denise Carrillo, Official Court Reporter for the 471st Judicial District Court; and, the parties.
We ABATE the appeal to allow the trial court an opportunity to comply with this order. The appeal shall be reinstated and any appropriate new deadlines shall be set no later than February 15, 2022.