Opinion
No. 08-18-00051-CV
05-23-2018
ROBERT RENE HOLBROOK, Appellant, v. RENEE ELIZABETH COLLINS HOLBROOK, Appellee.
Appeal from the 383rd District Court of El Paso County, Texas (TC# 2017DCM6873) MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellee, Renee Elizabeth Collins Holbrook, has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction and for sanctions. Finding that the trial court's order granting a motion for new trial is not appealable, we grant Appellee's motion and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
It is well settled that appellate courts have jurisdiction over final judgments and interlocutory orders made appealable by statute. Lehmann v. Har-Con Corporation, 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); TEX.CIV.PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014 (West Supp. 2017)(authorizing appeals from certain interlocutory orders). An order granting a motion for new trial rendered during the time the trial court has plenary power is generally not appealable. See Wilkins v. Methodist Health Care System, 160 S.W.3d 559, 563 (Tex. 2005). The Texas Supreme Court has recognized only two exceptions to this rule: (1) where the trial court's order is wholly void; and (2) where the trial court specified in the written order that the sole ground for granting the motion was that the jury's answers to special issues were irreconcilably conflicting). See Johnson v. Fourth Court of Appeals, 700 S.W.2d 916, 918 (Tex. 1985)(orig. proceeding).
Appellant has not filed any response to the motion to dismiss. Consequently, Appellant has not shown that either exception applies. Accordingly, we grant Appellee's motion and dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Appellee's request for sanctions is denied.
GINA M. PALAFOX, Justice May 23, 2018 Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez, and Palafox, JJ.