Court Opinion

ID: 9646023
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 06:09:27.044074+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:33.940001
License: Public Domain

VACATE and DISMISS and Opinion Filed August 15, 2023

                                    S   In The
                             Court of Appeals
                      Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
                                No. 05-23-00336-CV

                       JANINE CHARBONEAU, Appellant
                                   V.
                       F&M PROPERTIES, LLC, Appellee

                 On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 3
                             Collin County, Texas
                     Trial Court Cause No. 003-00516-2023

                         MEMORANDUM OPINION
                 Before Justices Pedersen, III, Garcia, and Kennedy
                            Opinion by Justice Kennedy
      The Court questioned its jurisdiction in the underlying forcible detainer

lawsuit because it appeared the case had become moot. See Olley v. HVM, LLC,

449 S.W.3d 572, 575 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. denied)

(appellate courts lack jurisdiction over moot controversies).           We instructed

appellant to file, on or before July 17, 2023, a letter brief addressing the

jurisdictional issue and cautioned her that failure to do so may result in dismissal

without further notice. As of today’s date, appellant has not filed a letter brief.
      In both the motion for new trial and the notice of appeal, appellant states that

a writ of possession has issued and she has been evicted from the property. See

Marshall v. Housing Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 785, 787 (Tex.

2006) (only issue in forcible detainer action is possession, and issue becomes moot

when tenant vacates property unless tenant has “potentially meritorious claim of

right to current, actual possession”).

      Appellant is no longer in possession of the property and she has failed to

demonstrate a potentially meritorious claim to actual possession. Accordingly, on

the record before us, we vacate the trial court’s March 13, 2023 order of dismissal

and dismiss the case as moot. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a); Marshall, 198 S.W.3d

at 790.

                                               /Nancy Kennedy/
                                               NANCY KENNEDY
                                               JUSTICE

230336F.P05

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

JANINE CHARBONEAU, Appellant               On Appeal from the County Court at
                                           Law No. 3, Collin County, Texas
No. 05-23-00336-CV        V.               Trial Court Cause No. 003-00516-
                                           2023.
F&M PROPERTIES, LLC, Appellee              Opinion delivered by Justice
                                           Kennedy. Justices Pedersen, III and
                                           Garcia participating.

      In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial
court’s March 13, 2023 order of dismissal and dismiss the case.

Judgment entered August 15, 2023

                                     –3–