Opinion ID: 1962876
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: standard of review

Text: Because mootness is a justiciability doctrine that operates to prevent courts from exercising jurisdiction, an appellate court reviews mootness determinations under the same standard of review as other jurisdictional questions. [5] When a jurisdictional question does not involve a factual dispute, its determination is a matter of law, which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion independent of the decisions made by the lower courts. [6] In reviewing summary judgment, an appellate court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment was granted, giving that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences deducible from the evidence. [7] The meaning of a contract and whether a contract is ambiguous are questions of law. [8] The meaning of a statute is also a question of law. [9] When reviewing questions of law, an appellate court has an obligation to resolve the questions independently of the conclusion reached by the trial court. [10]