Opinion
14-24-00037-CV
06-27-2024
ERICA SERNA, Appellant v. HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 281st District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2021-79853
Panel Consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Spain and Poissant.
ABATEMENT ORDER
PER CURIAM
This is an appeal from an order signed December 26, 2023. It appears from the record that the judgment is not final. Appellant has filed a motion to abate the appeal in order for the trial court to sign an order of severance. The motion is granted.
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 Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 206 (Tex. 2001). 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 in order for appellant to file a motion to sever the pending claims in the underlying case. The trial court clerk is ordered to prepare, certify, and file in this court a supplemental clerk's record containing an order granting or denying appellant's motion for severance within 60 days of this order. If the order is denied, the appeal is subject to dismissal without further notice for want of jurisdiction.
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.