Opinion
NO. 01-18-00128-CV
03-20-2018
VERDANT VENTURES LP; ACRES HOME REALTY CORP; AND THE REAL PROPERTY KNOWN AS 8503 NORTH FREEWAY, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77037, Appellants v. THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ET AL., Appellees
On Appeal from the 61st District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2016-17739
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellants, Verdant Ventures LP; Acres Home Realty Corp; and the Real Property Known as 8503 North Freeway, Houston, Texas 77037, timely appealed from the trial court's interlocutory order, signed on February 5, 2018, granting a temporary injunction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). On March 5, 2018, appellants filed a motion to dismiss this appeal without prejudice because the trial court vacated the temporary injunction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). More than ten days have passed, but no response has been filed to the motion. See id. 10.3(a).
Because appellants' motion did not attach the order, the Clerk of this Court has requested that the district clerk file a certified copy of the trial court's March 1, 2018 order which vacated the temporary injunction.
Generally, this Court has civil appellate jurisdiction over final judgments or interlocutory orders specifically authorized as appealable by statute. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.012, 51.014(a)(1)-(12) (West 2014); Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). However, while this Court has jurisdiction over this appeal, the trial court's act of vacating the temporary injunction renders this appeal moot because there is no longer an appealable final judgment or interlocutory order in the record. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(4); see, e.g., Zapata v. Clear Creek Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 01-15-00346-CV, 2015 WL 7737626, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 1, 2015, no pet.) (granting joint motion to dismiss appeal for want of jurisdiction after trial court vacated final judgment on appeal). "Appellate courts are prohibited from deciding moot controversies." Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n v. Jones, 1 S.W.3d 83, 86 (Tex. 1999). Mootness deprives this Court of jurisdiction. See Valley Baptist Med. Ctr. v. Gonzalez, 33 S.W.3d 821, 822 (Tex. 2000). Thus, we must dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
Accordingly, we grant appellants' motion and dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction as moot. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Keyes, and Higley.