Greathouse Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Tropical Investments, Inc.

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals held that a trial court lacked authority to order funds impounded in support of an unliquidated claim absent statutory authorization. The court also held that a temporary injunction is void when it fails to include a trial date as required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683, and it reversed and dissolved the injunction.

Holdings

1. An order granting a temporary injunction is appealable even though it is interlocutory and does not dispose of all issues and parties, because section 51.014 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code expressly authorizes an appeal from such an order.
2. Absent a permissive statute, a court lacks authority to impound assets for the contingent application to an unliquidated claim that has not been reduced to judgment.
3. A temporary-injunction order that does not include a date setting the cause for trial on the merits is void under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the interlocutory order granting a temporary injunction was appealable even though it did not dispose of all issues and parties.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by ordering the deposit of assets to secure an admittedly unliquidated claim that had not been reduced to judgment.
3. Whether the temporary-injunction order was void because it failed to set the cause for trial on the merits as required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683.

Disposition

reversed