Court Opinion

ID: 9398383
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-31 06:10:01.390532+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:33.449669
License: Public Domain

DISMISS and Opinion Filed May 25, 2023

                                       In The
                             Court of Appeals
                      Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
                                No. 05-23-00234-CV

           VICTORIA PINAL-RESENDIZ, INDIVIDUALLY AND
             AS NEXT FRIEND OF D.F., A MINOR, Appellant
                               V.
                 EPIFANIA MARES-SALAZAR, Appellee

               On Appeal from the 193rd Judicial District Court
                            Dallas County, Texas
                    Trial Court Cause No. DC-17-10140

                        MEMORANDUM OPINION
        Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Molberg, and Justice Goldstein
                         Opinion by Chief Justice Burns
      Appellant appeals from the trial court’s order of dismissal. Because the trial

court granted appellant’s timely motion to reinstate, we questioned our jurisdiction

over the appeal as it appeared to be moot. We directed appellant to file, no later than

April 14, 2023, a letter brief showing cause why the appeal should not be dismissed

and cautioned her that failure to comply may result in dismissal of the appeal without

further notice. As of today’s date, appellant has not responded.

      A case becomes moot if a controversy ceases to exist between the parties at

any stage of the proceedings. See In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d
732, 737 (Tex. 2005).       This Court does not have jurisdiction over moot

controversies. See Isola v. Polk, No. 05-21-00547-CV, 2022 WL 1438946, at *1

(Tex. App.—Dallas May 6, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.). An appeal becomes moot

after the trial court grants a motion to reinstate. See Mortell v. Pruett, No. 02-19-

00123-CV, 2019 WL 5608236, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Oct. 31, 2019, no pet.)

(mem. op.)

      Because the trial court granted appellant’s motion to reinstate, there is nothing

for this Court to review and the appeal is now moot. Accordingly, we dismiss the

appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).

                                            /Robert D. Burns, III//
230234f.p05                                 ROBERT D. BURNS, III
                                            CHIEF JUSTICE

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

VICTORIA PINAL-RESENDIZ,                     On Appeal from the 193rd Judicial
INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT                     District Court, Dallas County, Texas
FRIEND OF D.F., A MINOR,                     Trial Court Cause No. DC-17-10140.
Appellant                                    Opinion delivered by Chief Justice
                                             Burns. Justices Molberg and
No. 05-23-00234-CV          V.               Goldstein participating.

EPIFANIA MARES-SALAZAR,
Appellee

    In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the appeal is
DISMISSED.

      It is ORDERED that the parties bear their own costs of this appeal.

Judgment entered this 25th day of May, 2023.

                                       –3–