Summary
The Texas First Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal from a forcible detainer judgment as moot. The court concluded that the appellant was no longer in possession of the property and had not asserted a potentially meritorious claim to current, actual possession. The court vacated the trial court’s judgment, dismissed the case, and dismissed pending motions as moot.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the appeal from the forcible detainer judgment became moot because the appellant no longer possessed the property.
- Whether the appellate court lacked jurisdiction and was required to vacate the trial court's judgment and dismiss the case.
Holdings
- An appeal from a forcible detainer case is moot when the appellant no longer possesses the property and does not hold and assert a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession.
- When an appeal becomes moot, the appellate court lacks jurisdiction and must vacate the trial court's judgment and dismiss the case.
Key quotations
“An appeal from a forcible detainer case becomes moot when an appellant no longer has possession of the subject property unless the appellant holds and asserts “a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession” of the property.”
“Accordingly, we grant appellee’s motion and we vacate the trial court’s judgment and dismiss the case as moot.”
Factual background
The appeal concerned possession of property in a forcible detainer action. The appellee represented that Johnson no longer lived in or possessed the property, and counsel's certificate of conference stated that Johnson's grandson acknowledged that she no longer lived there. Johnson did not respond to the motion to dismiss or assert a potentially meritorious claim to current, actual possession.
Procedural history
The County Civil Court at Law No. 2 of Harris County signed a judgment of possession on March 11, 2026, and issued a writ of possession the same day. Johnson filed a pro se notice of appeal on March 9, 2026. The appellee moved to dismiss the appeal as moot, and the court granted the motion, vacated the trial court's judgment, and dismissed the case.