Opinion
13-20-00532-CV
04-12-2022
SOCORRO GONZALEZ, Appellant, v. ANTONIO GONZALEZ, Appellee.
On appeal from the 332nd District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas.
Before Justices Longoria, Hinojosa, and Silva
ORDER OF ABATEMENT
PER CURIAM
Appellant Socorro Gonzalez seeks to appeal an order signed September 11, 2020, rendered in favor of appellee Antonio Gonzalez "in part" and in favor of appellant "in part," where the parties' competing claims were tried before the trial court. We abate the proceeding and remand to the trial court for clarification of its September 11, 2020 order and issuance of related findings of facts and conclusions of law.
Appellant's live pleading contained causes of action for breach of contract, trespass to try title, trespass to real property, declaratory judgment, conversion of property and rents, gross negligence, and quantum meruit. Appellee's live answer asserted counterclaims for conversion and quantum meruit. Although the September 11, 2020 order contains language indicating finality of "all claims," the order only makes reference to appellant's breach of contract claim and appellee's conversion counterclaim. Neither party requested written findings of facts and conclusions of law. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 296; see also Ad Villarai, LLC v. Chan Il Pak, 519 S.W.3d 132, 141 (Tex. 2017) (per curiam) ("The leniency of [rule 296] allows a trial court judge to file late findings on her own volition or at the behest of the court of appeals."). On appeal, the parties dispute that the September 11, 2020 order, in fact, addressed all claims and challenge the manner in which claims were resolved (i.e., favorable to whom).
Unless specifically authorized by statute, appeals may be taken only from final judgments. In re Guardianship of Jones, 629 S.W.3d 921, 924 (Tex. 2021) (per curiam). Having reviewed the order, record made available on appeal, and arguments of the parties, we now request that the trial court confirm that its order was intended to dispose of all of the parties' claims so as to ensure judgment finality for purposes of establishing our jurisdiction. See id.; Bella Palma, LLC v. Young, 601 S.W.3d 799, 801 (Tex. 2020) (per curiam) ("If the appellate court is uncertain about the intent of the order, it can abate the appeal to permit clarification by the trial court." (quoting Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 206 (Tex. 2001))); see also Garcia v. Gonzalez, No. 13-20-00221-CV, 2021 WL 5365105, at *1 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi-Edinburg Nov. 18, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.) (abating proceedings sua sponte for clarification of trial court's order to ensure appellate jurisdiction).
The record on appeal does not include a transcript from the hearing where the trial court purportedly entered its oral rendition of judgment. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001) ("Because the law does not require that a final judgment be in any particular form, whether a judicial decree is a final judgment must be determined from its language and the record in the case."); but see Bella Palma, LLC v. Young, 601 S.W.3d 799, 802 (Tex. 2020) (per curiam) (concluding the reviewing court "erred in turning to the record to resolve the issue" of finality where following an abatement, the trial court issued a "Clarifying Order," confirming that the order on appeal was intended as final).
Accordingly, this Court, on its own motion, issues the following order. We abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court. On remand, the trial court is ordered to, within thirty days of this order, inform this Court by written explanation about whether it intended for the September 11, 2020 order to completely dispose of all live claims against each of the parties. The trial court shall cause its findings of fact and conclusions of law on these claims to be included in a supplemental clerk's record, and any record of proceedings shall be included in a supplemental reporter's record. The supplemental clerk's record and supplemental reporter's record, if any, shall be filed with the Clerk of this Court on or before the expiration of thirty days from the date of this order. If the trial court requires additional time to comply, the trial court should so notify the Clerk of this Court. The appeal will be reinstated upon receipt of the foregoing materials and upon further order of this Court.