Opinion
No. 05-15-00217-CV
04-27-2018
TRU EXPLORATION, LLC, TRU EXPLORATION "CREATING TRU PARTNERS", LLC, TRENT TRUBENBACH AND DONNA BURTON, Appellants v. ENERGY EXPLORATION I, LLC AND ENERGY EXPLORATION II, LLC, Appellees
On Appeal from the 416th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 416-00031-2015
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Lang-Miers, Evans, and Schenck
Opinion by Justice Lang-Miers
This is an interlocutory appeal from an order denying appellants' motion to stay litigation and compel arbitration. Asserting the appeal has become moot because arbitration has occurred and the arbitrator has issued an award, appellees have moved to dismiss the appeal. Appellants have not filed a response.
The mootness doctrine implicates a court's subject matter jurisdiction and limits courts to deciding only cases in which an actual controversy exists. Trulock v. City of Duncanville, 277 S.W.3d 920, 923 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, no pet.); Lincoln Prop. Co. v. Kondos, 110 S.W.3d 712, 715 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2003, no pet.). An appeal becomes moot if the controversy between the parties ceases to exist or any decision rendered by the appellate court would not affect the parties' rights. Trulock, 277 S.W.3d at 924. When an appeal becomes moot, any order or judgment previously rendered must be vacated and the appeal dismissed for want of jurisdiction. See Heckman v. Williamson Cty., 369 S.W.3d 137, 161 (Tex. 2012); Williams v. Lara, 52 S.W.3d 171, 184 (Tex. 2001); Trulock, 277 S.W.3d at 929.
The dispute on appeal centers on whether arbitration is required. Arbitration having been conducted and an award having been issued, the controversy no longer exists and the appeal is moot. See Trulock, 277 S.W.3d at 924.
On February 26, 2015, on appellants' emergency motion, we stayed the trial court proceedings pending further order of the Court. As the appeal is now moot, we vacate that order as well as the trial court's order denying appellants' motion to stay litigation and compel arbitration. See Heckman, 369 S.W.3d at 161. We grant appellees' motion and dismiss the appeal. See Trulock, 277 S.W.3d at 929; see also TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
/Elizabeth Lang-Miers/
ELIZABETH LANG-MIERS
JUSTICE 150217F.P05
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 416th Judicial District Court, Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 416-00031-2015.
Opinion delivered by Justice Lang-Miers, Justices Evans and Schenck participating.
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial court's order denying the motion to stay litigation and compel arbitration and DISMISS the appeal.
We ORDER appellees Energy Exploration I, LLC and Energy Exploration II, LLC recover their costs of this appeal from appellants TRU Exploration, LLC, TRU Exploration "Creating TRU Partners", LLC, Trent Trubenbach and Donna Burton. Judgment entered this 27th day of April, 2018.