Fourth Court of Appeals

San Antonio, Texas

January 16, 2019

No. 04-18-00851-CV

Stephanie VELA, Individually and as Next Friend of Juliet Banuelos,

Appellants

v.

James KEISER,

Appellee

From the 224th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas

Trial Court No. 2016CI17844

Honorable Cathleen M. Stryker, Judge Presiding

O R D E R

The clerk’s record in this matter was filed on December 4, 2018. Our review of the 

clerk’s record showed appellants filed a notice of appeal on November 9, 2018, in which they 

stated their “desire to appeal ... from the Final Judgment signed ... August 14, 2018.” After 

reviewing the clerk’s record, it appeared the document appellants believed was a final judgment 

was, in actuality, an “Agreed Motion for Judgment” in which appellants requested that judgment 

be rendered in a certain amount. Although the “Agreed Motion for Judgment” was in fact signed 

by the trial court on August 14, 2018, it contains no adjudicative or decretal language, i.e., it 

renders no judgment and makes no judicial award, and therefore, it appeared there was no final 

judgment for purposes of appeal. See Redwine v. Peckinpaugh, 535 S.W.3d 44, 48 (Tex. App.—

Tyler 2017, no pet.) (holding order or judgment that does not include decretal language does not 

result in final judgment because it adjudicates nothing) (citing In re Wilmington Tr., Nat’l Ass’n, 

524 S.W.3d 79, 702 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.)). 

Accordingly, because it appeared the alleged “judgment” was not a final judgment, but 

merely a motion asking the trial court to render judgment, we ordered appellants to file a written 

response in this court showing cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for want of 

jurisdiction. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 196 (Tex. 2001) (holding that 

generally appeal may be taken only from final judgment). We advised appellants that if a 

supplemental clerk’s record was required to establish this court’s jurisdiction, appellants were 

required to ask the trial court clerk to prepare one and cause it to be filed in this court. We 

suspended all appellate deadlines until further order of the court. 
On January 9, 2019, appellants filed a response to our show cause order. In that 

response, appellants advised this court that the trial court rendered a final judgment on December 

17, 2018. Thereafter, appellants filed an amended notice of appeal, stating a desire to appeal 

from the December 17, 2018 final judgment. Appellants also note they requested that the district 

clerk file in this court a supplemental clerk’s record that includes copies of the December 17, 

2018 judgment and their amended notice of appeal. Based on the rendition of a final judgment 

and their amended notice of appeal, appellants ask that we retain the appeal on our docket. 

In accord with appellants’ request, the district clerk filed a supplemental clerk’s record in 

this court on January 10, 2019. The supplemental clerk’s record includes a judgment signed 

December 17, 2018. The judgment contains decretal language and states it is a final judgment 

that disposes of all parties and claims and is appealable. The supplemental clerk’s record also 

includes appellants’ amended notice of appeal indicating appellants’ intent to appeal from the 

December 17, 2018 judgment. 

Accordingly, based on appellants’ response to our show cause order and our review of 

the supplemental clerk’s record, we find there is now a final judgment for purposes of appeal. 

We therefore ORDER this appeal retained on the court’s docket and the appellate deadlines

reinstated. At the time of our show cause order, the reporter’s record was due. Accordingly, we 

ORDER the court reporter, Mary Helen Vargas, to file the reporter’s record in this court on or 

before February 15, 2019. 

We order the clerk of this court to serve a copy of this order on the trial court, all 

counsel, the district clerk, and the court reporter. 

_________________________________

Beth Watkins, Justice

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said 

court on this 16th day of January, 2019.

___________________________________

KEITH E. HOTTLE,

Clerk of Court