Court Opinion

ID: 9925279
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-19 09:10:20.79838+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:00.587542
License: Public Domain

In The

                          Court of Appeals

               Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

                         __________________

                        NO. 09-21-00387-CV
                        __________________

                 NANNETTE CARLEY, Appellant

                                  V.

                SAALWAECHTER, INC., Appellee

__________________________________________________________________

            On Appeal from the 457th District Court
                  Montgomery County, Texas
                 Trial Cause No. 20-12-14893-CV
__________________________________________________________________

                    MEMORANDUM OPINION

     Under the Texas Tax Code, an owner of real property may redeem

its ownership rights to property purchased at a tax-foreclosure sale by

paying an amount prescribed by a statutory formula if they pay the

statutorily prescribed amount within the time the statute prescribes,

which begins to run when the deed issued to the purchaser is recorded.1

     1Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 34.21 (Supp.).

                                  1
In this appeal, the issue is whether the trial court erred following a trial

to the bench in finding that the amount the owner tendered to redeem

her property from a tax foreclosure sale represented “an insufficient

payment” to satisfy what we refer to in the opinion as the statutory

formula. 2

     We hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding the

property’s owner failed to tender an amount sufficient to substantially

comply with the statutory formula. For that reason, we will affirm the

trial court’s judgment.

                               Background

     The property that is the subject of the dispute consists of a

residential lot that we will refer to as the Property, which is described in

the order authorizing the lot’s sale as Lot 19, Rustic Oaks, in the Bartley

Murray Survey, Abstract 343, Montgomery County, Texas. In March

     2Id. § 34.21(a) (providing that an owner of real property sold at a

tax sale may redeem the property “by paying the purchaser the amount
the purchaser bid for the property, the amount of the deed recording fee,
and the amount paid by the purchaser as taxes, penalties, interest, and
costs on the property, plus a redemption premium of 25 percent of the
aggregate total if the property s redeemed during the first year of the
redemption period”). The term costs is defined to include the (“amount
reasonably spent by the purchaser for maintaining, preserving, and
safekeeping the property”).
                                    2
2019, five taxing entities obtained a judgment and decree of sale against

the Property’s owner, Nannette Carley. That judgment and the resulting

decree of sale were based on the ad valorem taxes levied against the

Property by five taxing entities that Carley, as the owner of the property,

had been assessed but failed to pay. The judgment lien awarded to the

taxing entities against the Property totaled $44,204. The judgment

against the Property describes the tax units’ claims as “valid claims for

delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and costs allowed by law[.]”3

     When Carley failed to cure the lien, a Montgomery County

constable conducted a tax foreclosure sale based on a court order, which

authorized the sale. Saalwaecther Inc. (“SI”) was the highest bidder for

the property at the sale, bidding $75,000 for the Property. On January

27, 2020, and based on the terms of the auction, Chris Jones (in his

capacity as a Montgomery County Constable) signed a Constables Deed

conveying the Property to SI.

     3The five   taxing entities listed in the judgment are the Tomball
Independent School District, Montgomery County, the Montgomery
County Hospital District, Montgomery County ESD 10, and Lone Star
College. The judgment creating the lien was signed by the 284th District
Court of Montgomery County, Trial Court Cause Number 17-11-13325.
For simplicity, the monetary figures discussed in the opinion have been
rounded to whole numbers.
                                      3
     In February 2020 and over SI’s objections, Carley returned to the

Property and moved back into the home. When Carley refused SI’s

demand to vacate, SI filed a Motion for Restraining Order and Temporary

Injunction. Following a March 2021 hearing, the trial court signed an

order granting SI’s request for temporary injunctive relief. The trial court

gave Carley twenty-one days to vacate the Property and ordered SI to

post a $100 bond.

     In May 2020, Carley, through her attorney, contacted employees or

agents of SI and advised that she desired to redeem the Property. Her

attorney asked SI to account for the funds “you have spent for the tax

sale and related expenses so that Ms. Carley may make [an] offer to

redeem the [P]roperty from you in accordance with the Texas Property

Code.” According to SI’s petition, SI responded to Carley’s request and

advised her that as of July 1, 2020, SI had spent $133,783 on the

Property.

     In November 2020, Carley tendered $101,650 to the Montgomery

County Tax-Assessor Collector together with an “Affidavit of Facts” in

which she represented that she was tendering the “correct amount” to

redeem the Property. In the “Affidavit of Facts,” Carley also represented

                                     4
that she and SI did not agree “on the amount owed.” Carley’s Affidavit of

Facts starts with her statement: “I Nannette Carley, do affirm the

statements below are true and correct.” Although the Affidavit of Facts

includes a signature by a notary, the notary’s certificate states: “This

instrument was acknowledged before me on November 3, 2020 by

Nannette Carley.” Finally, the information included in Carley’s Affidavit

of Facts doesn’t explain the factual basis for Carley’s claim that $101,650

is the “correct amount” to redeem the Property from the tax-foreclosure

sale.

        Relying on Carley’s Affidavit of Facts and payment, Montgomery

County’s Tax Assessor-Collector gave Carley a “Redemption Receipt.”4

On November 4, 2020, the Redemption Receipt was filed in the real

property records of Montgomery County. That same day, Carley went to

the Property and demanded that SI’s agents or employees leave. When

        4Under section 34.21(f-1) of the Tax Code, the “assessor-collector

who receives an affidavit and payment . . . shall accept that the assertions
set out in the affidavit are true and correct. The assessor-collector
receiving the payment shall give the owner a signed receipt witnessed by
two persons. The receipt, when recorded, is notice to all persons that the
property described has been redeemed.” Id. § 34.21(f-1). We assume this
was the purpose of the “Redemption Receipt” that the Tax-Assessor
Collector issued here.
                                    5
SI’s agents refused, the police were called, and the officers told Carley

that a judge would be needed to resolve the parties’ dispute.

     On December 4, 2020, SI sued Carley seeking a declaration that

Carley’s redemption was a nullity, did not vest title to the Property in

Carley, and it sought to recover its attorney’s fees and costs. In its

petition, SI also claimed that Carley’s “Affidavit of Facts” was defective

because it lacked a jurat, and falsely represented that $101,650 was the

“correct amount” when as of July 2020, Carley knew the amount she owed

to redeem the Property was $133,783.

     Carley, appearing pro se, filed an answer and counterclaim.

Responding to SI’s claim that the amount she tendered to redeem the

property was insufficient, Carley alleged that SI was claiming it was

entitled to costs other than those required to secure the Property and

“make it compliant with the applicable codes during the redemption

period[.]”

     In October 2021, the trial court conducted a hearing on SI’s motion

for sanctions. 5 Carley didn’t appear for the hearing. Following the

     5The motion for sanctions is one of several motions that is not before

us in the clerk’s record. The order the trial court signed granting SI’s
Motion for Sanctions is in the clerk’s record. The order reflects that
                                   6
October hearing, the trial court “ORDERED that as a sanction for her

conduct, each pleading that Nannette Carley filed in the above number

and styled cause is struck.” The trial court also ordered Carley to pay

“Montgomery County, Texas the sum of $33,000 within 10 days from the

date this Order is signed by delivering said sum to the Montgomery

County Treasurer[.]” Carley, who is also pro se in her appeal, didn’t

assign error to the trial court’s ruling on SI’s Motion for Sanctions.

     In November 2021, the trial court called the case to trial. Carley

failed to appear for the trial. Just two witnesses testified for SI in the

trial, David Saalwaecther and SI’s company attorney, J. Randal Bays.

David testified that SI received a Constables Deed after SI bought the

Property at a tax foreclosure sale, which occurred on December 3, 2019.

David explained that after SI bought the Property, either Carley or

Carley’s attorney contacted him around July 2020 and requested an

accounting for the expenses SI incurred on the Property since it was

purchased. According to David, he provided Carley (or her attorney) with

what he described as the redemption amount for the Property. According

Carley didn’t appear for the hearing on the motion for sanctions even
though she had notice of the “date, time, and location of the hearing[.]”
                                   7
to David, Carley’s representation in November 2020 to the Tax Assessor-

Collector that $101,650 was the “correct amount owed for redemption”

was “not correct” for two reasons: first, $101,650 was not the correct

amount; and second, in the months between July and November 2020, SI

had additional costs, which SI claimed it was entitled to recoup from

Carley before she could satisfy the statutory formula by paying what SI

calculated under the statutory formula as the correct amount to the tax

office.

      David Saalwaecther identified Exhibit 9 as a summary that SI

maintained in the ordinary course of business of the amounts SI paid for

the Property, for insurance, and to maintain and repair the Property

since December 3, 2019, plus the 25 percent statutory premium on the

aggregate amount. According to David and based on the itemized

summary, as of November 4, 2020, the redemption amount under the

statutory formula when Carley attempted to redeem the Property totaled

$165,462. 6

      6The exhibit lists the purchase price of the property, the amounts

spent on maintenance and repairs, and the 25% redemption premium
based on the “aggregate total” that a purchaser at a tax sale is authorized
to collect when a property’s owner exercises a right of redemption in the
first year of the prescribed redemption period. See id. § 34.21(a).
                                     8
      For his part, Randal Bays testified the attorney’s fees that his firm

charged SI were reasonable, necessary, and incurred in the firm’s

handling of SI’s suit. Bays explained that he was seeking a judgment of

$17,147 in attorney’s fees through the trial plus an additional award of

$15,000 in attorney’s fees should Carley appeal the judgment to the Court

of Appeals. 7 Itemized billing records were admitted as exhibits to support

Bays’s testimony about the fees his firm charged SI.

      When the trial ended, the trial court found in SI’s favor, concluding:

(1) the “Affidavit of Facts,” which Carley provided to the Montgomery

County Tax Assessor-Collector on November 4, 2020, is not an affidavit

that authorized Montgomery County’s Tax Assessor-Collector to issue

the Redemption Receipt for the Property; (2) the Redemption Receipt

issued for the Property is invalid, void, and of no force or effect, so it does

not vest title to the Property in Carley; (3) the money Carley paid to the

Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector for taxes, penalties, and

interest on the Property to redeem it from foreclosure was an insufficient

amount for that purpose; and (4) the true and rightful owner of the

      7Bays also asked for additional conditional awards of attorney’s fees

if Carley appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.
                                  9
Property is Saalwaechter Inc., the entity that purchased the Property at

the tax-foreclosure sale. Finally, the trial court awarded SI $17,147 in

attorney’s fees, plus additional conditional awards of attorney’s fees,

which were made contingent on Carley exercising her right to appeal.

     Carley, who is pro se in her appeal, filed a brief in which she raises

nine issues. Four of Carley’s issues—issues one, five, eight, and nine—

argue the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the trial

court’s judgment. In Carley’s second issue, she argues that the party that

buys a property in a tax sale may not file a suit challenging an owner’s

exercise of their right of redemption after the property is redeemed under

the Tax Code, section 34.21. 8 One of Carley’s issues, issue three, contends

the trial court erred in concluding that the “Affidavit of Facts” was not

an affidavit because it doesn’t contain a jurat—the certificate usually

found at the end of an affidavit signifying that the person who signed the

affidavit has sworn to the truth of the facts in the affidavit before an

officer authorized to administer an oath. 9 In Carley’s fourth issue, she

     8Id.
     9See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 312.011(1) (an affidavit is a “statement

in writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before
an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified by the
officer under his seal of office”).
                                      10
argues that a $100 bond the trial court set when it granted SI’s Motion

for Temporary Injunction was insufficient because the Property was

worth much more. In issue six, Carley argues that because the trial court

lacked jurisdiction over her person and the Property, the trial court erred

when it failed to grant her motion to dismiss. Last, in Carley’s seventh

issue, she claims that the trial court erred by considering photographs of

the Property because she objected to them in the Motion in Limine on the

grounds they were not properly authenticated.

                                 Analysis

                           Standard of Review

     For convenience, we will address Carley’s factual sufficiency issues

before addressing her other issues. We note that even though not

requested, the trial court included several findings of fact and conclusions

of law in its judgment. When parties haven’t requested findings of fact

and conclusions of law, we imply all the necessary findings needed to

support the trial court’s judgment, and we will uphold the judgment on

any legal theory supported by the evidence. 10

     10See Holt Atherton Indus., Inc. v. Heine, 835 S.W.2d 80, 83 (Tex.

1992).
                                    11
      In a case tried to the bench, the trial court acts as the factfinder.11

In that role, the trial court decides what witnesses are credible, weighs

the testimony, and resolves any inconsistencies in the evidence when

reaching its verdict. 12 When reviewing the trial court’s findings for legal

and factual sufficiency, we use the same standards that apply to a case

tried by a jury. 13

      In a legal sufficiency review, “the final test for legal sufficiency [is]

whether the evidence at trial would enable reasonable and fair-minded

people to reach the verdict under review.”14 Unlike a factual sufficiency

review, we consider and weigh all the evidence and will set aside a finding

only if the evidence that supports it is so weak that it makes the finding

clearly wrong and unjust. 15 Stated another way, we may not set aside a

finding challenged in an appeal unless the implied findings that support

      11McGalliard v. Kuhlmann, 722 S.W.2d 694, 697 (Tex. 1986); see

also City of Keller v. Wilson, 168 S.W.3d 802, 819 (Tex. 2005).
      12Id.
      13Ortiz v. Jones, 917 S.W.2d 770, 772 (Tex. 1996); Anderson v. City

of Seven Points, 806 S.W.2d 791, 794 (Tex. 1991).
      14See Cain v. Bain, 709 S.W.2d 175, 176 (Tex. 1986) (per curiam).
      15Id.

                                     12
the verdict are so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence

that the findings being challenged are clearly wrong and unjust. 16

      In this case, the fact issue that Carley disputes is whether the

evidenced supports the trial court’s finding that she failed to tender the

statutorily prescribed amount. Under Texas law, a party’s substantial

compliance with the statutorily prescribed formula for redeeming their

property from a tax foreclosure sale “may satisfy the statute’s

demands.”17 When the dispute is over whether the amount the owner

tendered substantially complied with the statutory formula, the

reviewing court doesn’t “engage in its own factual review, but decides

whether the record supports the trial court’s resolution of factual matters

and defers to the trial court’s factual determinations if it does.” 18 But if

the underlying facts are undisputed, the reviewing court determines

“whether the trial court properly applied the law to the facts in reaching

its legal conclusion.” 19

      16See Plas-Tex, Inc. v. U.S. Steel Corp., 772 S.W.2d 442, 445 (Tex.

1989); Cain, 709 S.W.2d at 176.
     17Sorrell v. Estate of Carlton, 593 S.W.3d 167, 173 (Tex. 2019).
     18Id. at 174 (cleaned up).
     19Id. (cleaned up).

                                     13
                   Issues One, Five, Eight, and Nine

  A. Does the evidence support the judgment?

     Before the trial, the trial court struck all of Carley’s pleadings.

Carley, who was also pro se in the trial, didn’t appear for the trial. On

appeal, Carley hasn’t challenged the trial court’s pretrial ruling striking

her pleadings.

     Because the trial court struck Carley’s answer, the factual

allegations in SI’s petition (except as to any unliquidated damages) were

deemed admitted. 20 For that reason, in our review we have taken the

following allegations in SI’s petition as facts that were not disputed:

        • Saalwaechter Inc. was the highest bidder for the Property in
          a court-ordered tax foreclosure sale, which occurred on
          December 3, 2019;

        • On January 27, 2020, by a Constables Deed, Chris Jones, in
          his capacity as a Montgomery County Constable, conveyed the
          Property to Saalwaecther Inc.;

        • In May 2020, Saalwaechter Inc., acting through its agents or
          employees, provided Carley a redemption price for the
          Property within the time required by the Tax Code;

     20See Paradigm Oil, Inc. v. Retamco Operating, Inc., 372 S.W.3d

177, 183 (Tex. 2012) (noting that “the non-answering party in a no-
answer default judgment is said to have admitted both the truth of facts
set out in the petition and the defendant’s liability on any cause of action
properly alleged by those facts”).
                                    14
        • In July 2020, Saalwaecther Inc. sent Carley a redemption
          amount for the Property after receiving a request from the
          attorney who represented her at that time.

        • On November 4, 2020, Carley tendered $101,650 to the
          Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector and filed an
          affidavit with that office stating the “purchaser and I do not
          agree on the amount owed for redemption of said property.”

        • Saalwaecther Inc. did not demand that the Tax Assessor-
          Collector turn over the money that Carley tendered to redeem
          the Property to it as the purchaser of the Property in the tax
          sale.

        • On December 4, 2020, Saalwaecther Inc. sued Carley in a
          petition in which it raised three claims: (1) a claim for
          declaratory judgment; (2) a claim alleging trespass to try title;
          and (3) an equitable claim seeking to quiet title to the
          Property.

     SI’s petition alleges that on July 1, 2020, SI provided Carley with

the accounting she requested regarding the expenses it had incurred on

the Property and “provided the requested information showing that

Saalwaecther, Inc. had spent $133,782.99 on the Property as of July 1,

2020.” Along with recouping the purchase price, penalties, interest, and

costs that SI included in its figure of $133,783, the statutory formula

allows the purchaser an additional “redemption premium of 25 percent

                                   15
of the aggregate total” if the property’s owner redeems the property

within a year of the date the deed to the property was filed. 21

     The trial court found the amount Carley tendered to the tax office—

$101,650—was an “insufficient payment to redeem the Property.” That

said, to determine whether the amount tendered is sufficient, the

payment tendered must be compared to the amount required under the

statutory formula. And under the statutory formula, “[o]nly the amounts

included in the itemization provided to the owner may be allowed for

purposes of redemption.” 22 Here, the parties didn’t request findings, so

the appellate record doesn’t include a finding that identifies the amount

the trial court determined Carley owed after applying the statutory

formula to the evidence admitted in the trial. Nonetheless, we must still

conclude on this record that the trial court did not abuse its discretion

when it concluded that SI established that Carley’s tender of $101,650

wasn’t sufficient to substantially comply with her obligations under the

statutory formula. 23

     21Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 34.21(a).
     22Id. § 34.21(i).
     23Id.

                                    16
     As mentioned, the statutory formula doesn’t allow amounts to be

included as “costs for the purposes of redemption” unless they were

included in the itemization. 24 The evidence before the trial court shows

that SI provided Carley with an accounting on July 1, 2020. Therefore,

when the trial court applied the statutory formula, we assume the trial

court didn’t include the amounts that SI included in Exhibit 9 for

expenses that it paid to repair or maintain the Property after July 1,

2020, as those expenses could not have been properly included as “costs”

under the statutory formula based on the evidence presented in the trial.

     Yet even when we exclude the items on Exhibit 9 that SI incurred

or paid after July 1, 2020, the trial court could have reasonably found

that the line entry items on SI’s itemization totaled $107,027 when SI

provided Carley with an accounting for its expenses on the Property in

early July 2020. In addition to that amount, the statutory formula allows

SI to collect an additional 25% premium on the “aggregate total,” or in

this case a premium of $26,757 (.25 x $107,027). Thus, when we imply

that the trial court applied the statutory formula to the evidence

presented in the trial, we conclude the evidence shows that Carley’s

     24Id.

                                   17
tender represents around 76% of the total sum the statutory formula

demanded that she pay to redeem her Property from the tax-foreclosure

sale.

        We further conclude that based on Carley’s deemed admissions, the

trial court’s finding that she received an accounting on July 1, 2020, is

supported by the evidence. 25 Therefore, when Carley exercised her right

to redeem the Property in November 2020, she was aware she was

tendering a sum that was just 75% of what SI had incurred on the

Property based on the accounting she received from SI. Based on these

conclusions, we conclude the trial court’s finding that Carley’s tender was

“an insufficient payment” is reasonable. Consequently, we hold the trial

court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that Carley’s tender did

not substantially comply with the statutory formula.

        After viewing the evidence in a neutral light, we further conclude

the trial court’s finding that Carley’s payment was insufficient is not so

contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that it is wrong and

unjust. 26 Finally, we cannot say that when the trial court applied the

        25See Paradigm Oil, Inc., 372 S.W.3d at 183.
        26See Plas-Tex, Inc., 772 S.W.2d at 445; Cain, 709 S.W.2d at 176.

                                     18
statutory formula to the evidence that it erred in properly applying the

law. 27

                                Issue Two

   A. May a purchaser who acquires real property in a tax-foreclosure
      sale file a suit and challenge the property owner’s exercise of their
      right of redemption, a right created by section 34.21 of the Tax
      Code?

      According to Carley, the Tax Code doesn’t provide for “setting aside

a tax sale redemption” after the taxing unit issues a signed receipt

acknowledging payment. We disagree.

      First, we note that section 34.21(f-1) of the Tax Code requires the

“assessor-collector who receives an affidavit and payment under

Subsection (f) [to] accept that the assertions set out in the affidavit are

true and correct.” 28 Yet the legislature made the right of redemption in

section 34.21 contingent on the owner “paying the required amount as

prescribed by [section 34.21].” 29 At issue here is whether Carley paid the

required amount.

      27See BMC Software Belg., N.V. v. Marchand, 83 S.W.3d 789, 794

(Tex. 2002).
      28Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 34.21(f-1).
      29Id. § 34.21(f) (emphasis added).

                                    19
     Second, the redemption statute shows the legislature contemplated

there could be litigation over whether an owner tendered the required

amount, so within the statute, the legislature chose to relieve tax

assessor-collectors from liability “to any person for performing the

assessor-collector’s duties under this subsection in reliance on the

assertions in an [owner’s] affidavit.” 30 In our opinion, the language of the

statute shows the legislature contemplated litigation could arise between

parties over whether the owner tendered the required amount given the

complexity of the statutory formula and the rules the legislature created

to govern the statute’s application.

     Third, nothing in sections 34.21, 34.22, or 34.23 of the Tax Code—

all the sections that address redemption—purport to bar a purchaser

from seeking relief in a court when a property owner fails to pay the

required amount in redeeming their property from a tax sale to defeat the

deed issued to the purchaser following the sale. 31 Thus, in Sorrell v.

Estate of Carlton, the Texas Supreme Court reviewed a judgment in a

case following a bench trial in which the issue was whether the amount

     30Id. § 34.21(f-1).
     31Id. §§ 34.21-.23.

                                     20
that the owner tendered to the tax assessor-collector was sufficient to

satisfy the statutory formula under the evidence admitted in the trial.32

Nothing in that opinion suggests that a purchaser of real property sold

in a tax-foreclosure sale is barred from filing suit to challenge whether

the property’s owner tendered the required amount under the

legislatively prescribed formula.

                               Issue Three

  A. Does the record support the trial court’s finding that the “Affidavit
     of Facts Nannette Carley provided to the Montgomery County Tax
     Assessor-Collector on November 4, 2020, is not an affidavit[?]”

     The Government Code defines the term affidavit as “a statement in

writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before

an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified to by the

officer under his seal of office.” 33 In the trial court, David Saalwaecther

testified that the “Affidavit of Facts” Carley filed with the Tax Assessor-

Collector didn’t include a jurat, but instead contained only a verification

as to the truth of the facts in the document. 34 On appeal, Carley argues

     32Sorrell, 593 S.W.3d at 169, 170, 175.
     33Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 312.011(1).
     34The   “Affidavit of Facts” that Carley filed makes four positive
assertions: (1) “The redemption period for this property has not
expired[;]” (2) “I have contacted the purchaser of my home at [the address
                                     21
that the trial court erred in finding that her Affidavit of Facts was

defective because it doesn’t have a proper jurat.

     “A jurat is a certification by an authorized officer, stating that the

writing was sworn to before the officer.” 35 “While the Government Code

requires that an affidavit be sworn to, it does not require a jurat or clause

stating that the writing was sworn to before the officer.” 36 Here, except

as to Carley’s statement that the “correct amount owed for redemption of

said property is $101,650,” the remaining facts that Carley included in

her “Affidavit of Facts” were undisputed under the evidence SI presented

in the trial. And, as to whether Carley tendered the “correct amount” as

she claimed, the Tax Code doesn’t require the owner to include a

for the home;]” (3) “The purchaser and I do not agree on the amount owed
for redemption of said property[;]” and (4) “The correct amount owed for
redemption of the property is $101,650.00.” Items one through three were
undisputed at trial and are undisputed in the appeal. The dispute both
in the trial court and on appeal is primarily whether the amount Carley
tendered to the tax office, $101,650, was the required amount or
substantially complied with the required amount under Tax Code,
section 34.21(a). See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 34.21(a).
      35Mansions in the Forest, L.P. v. Montgomery Cty., 365 S.W.3d 314,

316 (Tex. 2012).
      36Id. (citing Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 312.011(1); Perkins v.

Crittenden, 462 S.W.2d 565, 568 (stating that, while the statutory
definition of “affidavit” requires that the affidavit be sworn to, it does not
require “an authorized officer [to] attest[] to the oath”)).
                                      22
statement about whether the property’s owner is tendering the “correct

amount” or the “required amount” to redeem the property from the

foreclosure sale. 37

      The legislature’s decision not to require that an owner of real

property swear that they have tendered the required amount owed on

property sold in a tax foreclosure sale seems reasonable, as the owner

who lost the property through foreclosure isn’t the party that incurred

the costs of repairing or maintaining the property after the foreclosure

occurred. Stated another way, it would be difficult and perhaps in some

cases impossible for the property’s owner to determine if the costs

incurred by the purchaser after the date of foreclosure were incurred,

whether they were necessary, whether they were reasonable, or if they

have been paid.

      37Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 34.21(f) (providing the owners affidavit must

state “(1) that the period in which the owner’s right of redemption must
be exercised has not expired; and (2) . . . that the owner and the purchaser
cannot agree on the amount of redemption money due[.]” Consequently,
section 34.21(f) allows an owner to redeem the real property by “paying
the required amount as prescribed by this section,” but it doesn’t require
the owner to swear that the amount the owner calculated is the correct
amount before an officer authorized to administer an oath.
                                    23
      Nonetheless, since we have already concluded that the trial court

didn’t abuse its discretion by ruling for SI because Carley failed to tender

the “required payment” under the Redemption Statute, we need not

decide whether the trial court erred when it found that Carley’s Affidavit

of Facts didn’t function as an affidavit because it lacked a proper jurat.38

That’s because even if we decided to resolve issue three in Carley’s favor,

she would not be entitled to a ruling from this Court reversing the trial

court’s judgment in light of our resolution of issues one, five, eight, and

nine. 39

                                Issue Four

   A. Was the temporary injunction bond in an insufficient amount?

      In issue four, Carley argues the trial court erred when it ordered SI

to post a $100 temporary injunction bond because the “taking” of her

“property under [SI’s] failed petition warrant[ed] a bond near one million

dollars.” Yet here, as we have explained, the trial court has rendered a

final judgment. The trial court’s judgment didn’t convert the temporary

injunction into a permanent injunction, and the judgment states all

      38See id.
      39Tex. R. App. P. 47.1 (requiring opinions to address each issue that

is necessary to resolving the appeal).
                                  24
“relief requested by a party to this action that is not expressly given in

this Final Judgment is denied.”

     When a trial court renders a final judgment, the appeal addressing

the trial court’s ruling on a temporary injunction “becomes moot.”40 We

are not authorized to issue opinions on matters that are moot. 41

                                Issue Six

  A. Did the trial court possess jurisdiction over Carley and over the
     Property?

     In issue six, Carley argues the trial court lacked jurisdiction over

her and the Property because the trial court never ruled on the pretrial

motions that she filed to dismiss SI’s suit. We disagree.

     It is black-letter law that “a district court has subject-matter

jurisdiction to resolve disputes unless the Legislature divests it of that

jurisdiction.”42 “District Court jurisdiction consists of exclusive,

     40Isuani v. Manske-Sheffield Radiology Grp., 802 S.W.2d 235, 236

(Tex. 1991).
      41See Valley Baptist Med. Ctr. v. Gonzalez, 33 S.W.3d 821, 822 (Tex.

2000) (explaining that because appellate courts do not have jurisdiction
to render advisory opinions under article II, section 1 of the Texas
Constitution, courts may not issue opinions on matters that have been
mooted by the trial court’s rendition of a final judgment); see also Tex. R.
App. P. 47.1.
      42In re Oncor Elec. Delivery Co., 630 S.W.3d 40, 44 (Tex. 2021)

(citing In re Entergy Corp., 142 S.W.3d 316, 322 (Tex. 2004)).
                                    25
appellate, and original jurisdiction of all actions, proceedings, and

remedies, except in cases where exclusive, appellate, or original

jurisdiction may be conferred by this Constitution or other law on some

other court, tribunal, or administrative body.” 43 Thus, we must presume

that the district court possessed the subject-matter jurisdiction it needed

to resolve this claim. 44 This case concerns property rights, and

“[t]ypically, the power to determine controverted rights to property by

means of a binding judgment is vested in the judicial branch.”45

      SI’s suit was assigned to the 457th District Court, a court of general

jurisdiction. 46 Thus, the jurisdiction of the 457th District Court included

civil matters “in which the amount in controversy is more than $500,

exclusive of interest.” 47 As a district court, the 457th District Court also

had jurisdiction to “hear and determine any cause that is cognizable by

courts of law or equity and [to] grant any relief that could be granted by

either courts of law or equity.” 48 Consequently, the 457th District Court

     43Tex. Const. art. V, § 8.
     44Oncor, 630 S.W.3d at 44.
     45Barshop v. Medina Cnty. Underground Water Conservation Dist.,

925 S.W.2d 618, 635 (Tex. 1996).
     46Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 24.007, 24,997, 24.6001.
     47Id. § 24.007(b).
     48Id. § 24.008.

                                  26
had the jurisdiction necessary to sign the judgment at issue in the appeal,

which granted SI’s request to clear the cloud Carley created on the deed

SI acquired in the tax sale under the process the legislature authorized

for a tax sale to occur. 49 Carley’s argument that SI didn’t have standing

to assert a claim to the Property is frivolous when it’s undisputed that SI

holds a Constables Deed to the Property, which was signed and filed of

record in January 2020.

                               Issue Seven

  A. Did the trial court err in admitting photographs of the Property
     over the objections that Carley raised to their admission in her
     Motion in Limine?

     In Carley’s seventh issue, she complains that she filed a Motion in

Limine that the trial court “disregarded[,]” and allowed SI to introduce

“pictures purporting to show damages to the [P]roperty which were not

authenticated [that] were insufficient to defeat [her] witness’ testimony

[about] the condition of the [P]roperty as well as appellant Carley’s own

pictures revealing the [P]roperty was left in a clean and undamaged

     49See Tex. Const. art. V, §§ 1, 8; Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 24.007,

24.008.
                                    27
condition with appellant Carley competent to authenticate her own

pictures, to wit: Rule 901.”

     The record shows that Carley filed her Motion in Limine

approximately two months before the trial. Yet the record doesn’t show

that Carley ever obtained a hearing or a ruling on her motion. And as

mentioned, Carley didn’t attend the trial, so no objections were lodged to

the photographs of the Property when SI’s attorney offered them into

evidence in the trial.

     Even if Carley had obtained a hearing and ruling on her motion in

limine, it is well established that rulings on motions in limine are not

sufficient to preserve a party’s claim of error for a later appeal. 50 That’s

because the purpose of “such a motion is to prevent the asking of

prejudicial questions and the making of prejudicial statements in the

presence of the jury without seeking the trial court’s permission.”51 To

preserve a claim for an appeal, a party must bring the claim to the trial

court’s attention through a timely request, objection, or motion, which as

     50Wackenhut Corp.  v. Gutierrez, 453 S.W.3d 917, 920 n.3 (Tex.
2015); Mar. Overseas Corp. v. Ellis, 971 S.W.2d 402, 425 (Tex. 1998);
Miranda-Lara v. Rebert, No. 09-18-00325-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS
7001, at *4 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Aug. 31, 2020, no pet.).
     51Wackenhut, 453 S.W.3d at 920 n.3 (cleaned up).

                                 28
to a photograph requires the party to object to the photograph when it is

offered into evidence at trial since that’s when the trial court is in the

best position to rule on the merits of the party’s objection. 52

                                Conclusion

     Because Carley’s issues lack merit, they are overruled. The trial

court’s judgment is,

     AFFIRMED.

                                                    HOLLIS HORTON
                                                       Justice

Submitted on August 21, 2023
Opinion Delivered January 18, 2024

Before Horton, Johnson and Wright, JJ.

     52See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1 (emphasis added).

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