Opinion
05-24-00533-CV
08-30-2024
SIMETRIUS DAWN KELLEY AND LORI KELLEY, Appellants v. BRIAN OWOSENI AND KELLY OWOSENI, Appellees
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 1 Kaufman County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 24C-068
Before Justices Partida-Kipness, Pedersen, III, and Carlyle, J.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
CORY L. CARLYLE JUSTICE.
We questioned our jurisdiction over this appeal from the county court's final forcible detainer judgment as it appeared appellant had been evicted from the premises at issue and the case had become moot. See Marshall v. Housing Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 785, 787 (Tex. 2006) (possession of premises is only issue in forcible detainer action; issue of possession becomes moot when tenant no longer is in possession of property unless tenant has "potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession"); Olley v. HVM, L.L.C., 449 S.W.3d 573, 575 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. denied) (appellate courts lack jurisdiction over moot controversies). We directed appellants to file a letter brief addressing our concern, but more than ten days have passed, and appellants have not responded.
When, as here, a case becomes moot on appeal, the appellate court must set aside the trial court's judgment and dismiss the case. See Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 785, 790. Accordingly, on the record before us, we vacate the trial court's final forcible detainer judgment and dismiss the case as moot. See id. at 790.
JUDGMENT
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial court's final judgment and DISMISS the case as moot.