Court Opinion

ID: 9387802
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-19 06:07:29.283048+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:15.590400
License: Public Domain

VACATE ORDER AND DISMISS and Opinion Filed April 17, 2023

                                   S  In The
                            Court of Appeals
                     Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
                               No. 05-22-01316-CV

                           JOHN SEAY, Appellant
                                   V.
                        DEL ROY FUNDS, LP, Appellee

                On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 5
                            Dallas County, Texas
                    Trial Court Cause No. CC-22-06072-E

                        MEMORANDUM OPINION
                   Before Justices Molberg, Carlyle, and Smith
                           Opinion by Justice Molberg
      This is an appeal from an order in a forcible detainer lawsuit awarding

possession of the subject property to appellee. Before the Court is appellee’s

motion to dismiss the appeal as moot. Appellee recites in the motion that a writ of

possession was executed, and appellant is no longer in possession of the property.

      The only issue in a forcible detainer suit is the right to immediate possession

of the premises. See Olley v. HVM, L.L.C., 449 S.W.3d 572, 575 (Tex. App.—

Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. denied). Unless an appellant has a potentially

meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession, the issue of possession and
the case become moot when the appellant is no longer in possession of the

premises. See Marshall v. Hous. Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782,

787, 790 (Tex. 2006). When a case becomes moot on appeal, an appellate court

must vacate the trial court’s judgment and dismiss the case. See City of Dallas v.

Woodfield, 305 S.W.3d 412, 416 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, no pet.).

      More than ten days have passed since appellee filed its motion to dismiss

and appellant has not filed a response. Because nothing in the record before us

shows appellant has a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual

possession of the property, we grant appellee’s motion, vacate the trial court’s

December 2, 2022 order, and dismiss the case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a);

Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 790.

                                             /Ken Molberb/
                                             KEN MOLBERG
                                             JUSTICE

221316F.P05

                                       –2–
                                  S
                           Court of Appeals
                    Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
                                  JUDGMENT

JOHN SEAY, Appellant                       On Appeal from the County Court at
                                           Law No. 5, Dallas County, Texas
No. 05-22-01316-CV        V.               Trial Court Cause No. CC-22-06072-
                                           E.
DEL ROY FUNDS, LP, Appellee                Opinion delivered by Justice Molberg.
                                           Justices Carlyle and Smith
                                           participating.

      In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial
court’s December 2, 2022 order and DISMISS the case.

      We ORDER that appellee DEL ROY FUNDS, LP recover its costs of this
appeal from appellant JOHN SEAY.

Judgment entered April 17, 2023

                                     –3–