Court Opinion

ID: 9684320
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:53:35.05551+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:51.833415
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
Appellant in her motion for rehearing contends that as a matter of law, upon the filing of the second motion for summary judgment by appellee, the first motion for such judgment was superseded and abandoned. Therefore, she interprets the court’s original decision as constituting a holding that the summary judgment was based upon, and constituted a disposition of, both motions for summary judgment.
Appellant has misconstrued the court’s decision. Our original opinion, in this respect, was only a statement of the state of the record before us. We did not discuss what legal effect, if any, the filing of the second motion for summary judgment had on the first motion. We do not agree that this is the effect of our holding in the original opinion. We merely held that since the stipulations of the parties and the recitations of the court in its judgment clearly show that a fact issue on the statute of limitations was raised by the pleadings and summary judgment evidence, said fact issue was not disposed of. In determining the finality of a judgment we must look to the judgment itself. Gregory v. Lytton, 422 S.W.2d 586 (Tex.Civ.App., San Antonio 1967, writ ref’d n. r. e.). Therefore, in the absence of a severance of that issue, the judgment was interlocutory and not appeal-able. Insofar as determining our jurisdiction it is immaterial whether the second motion for summary judgment did or did not supersede the first motion for such judgment. For the fact remains that on the face of the record it is shown that all fact issues were not disposed of. The judgment shows that the statute of limitations issue was reserved. This means that if the appellee is not successful in sustaining this judgment in the appellate courts it then would return to the trial court and present its statute of limitations defense. Rule 166A, T.R.C.P., does not authorize a piecemeal trial of the issues involved in this case. Vol. 4 McDonald Texas Civil Practice, sec. 17.26.3 p. 138.
Appellant further says that the trial judge “seems to feel very strongly that he has no power to resume jurisdiction over this cause” and if his position remains unchanged, the result might be that the appellant could neither return to the trial court for a new trial nor have any relief in this court. We do not consider this argument to be a legal ground for granting the motion for rehearing. To so hold would be a dangerous precedent for this court to set. The duty and responsibility rest with this court to determine its jurisdiction. We adhere to our original decision and believe it to be correct in light of the reported decisions. See City of San Antonio v. Castillo, 285 S.W.2d 835 (Tex.Civ.App., San Antonio 1955, n. w. h.); Grodhaus v. Dimerling, 259 S.W.2d 350, 352 (Tex.Civ.App., Galveston 1953). In the latter case, the Court of Civil Appeals held the trial court’s judgment was not final because it did not dispose of the statute of limitations issue. However, the *156Court remanded the cause to the trial court. The Supreme Court approved the holding of the Court of Civil Appeals but, upon the mere application for writ of error, remanded the cause to said Court with instructions to change its judgment from remand to one dismissing the appeal. Dimerling v. Grodhaus, 152 Tex. 458, 261 S.W.2d 561 (1953). Appellant’s motion for rehearing is respectfully overruled.