Double Diamond, Inc. v. White Bluff Property Owners Association, Inc. ( 2018 )

IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-17-00166-CV
No. 10-18-00049-CV
DOUBLE DIAMOND, INC.,
Appellant
v.
WHITE BLUFF PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.,
Appellee
From the 66th District Court
Hill County, Texas
Trial Court Nos. 53310-A and 53310-B
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Double Diamond, Inc., and appellee, White Bluff Property Owners
Association, Inc., have informed this Court that they have settled their disputes in
appellate cause numbers 10-17-00166-CV and 10-18-00049-CV. Accordingly, the parties
have filed joint motions in both appellate cause numbers. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(a)(2).
Specifically, in both appellate cause numbers, the parties filed “Joint Motion[s] for
Disposition Pursuant to Settlement Agreement,” requesting that we: (1) lift the
abatement of the appeals; (2) set aside the trial court’s final judgments in trial court cause
numbers 53310-A and 53310-B; (3) render judgment dismissing all claims, with each party
to bear their own costs of court; (4) order that all costs on appeal shall be borne by the
party or parties incurring same; and (5) order that this Court’s mandate in both appeals
shall issue immediately.
“While we cannot both vacate the trial court’s judgment and dismiss the appeal,
the appellate rules allow us to render judgment vacating the trial court’s judgment and
dismissing the case, whether that rendition occurs after we consider the merits of the
appeal or in effectuating the parties’ settlement agreement.” Braums, Inc. v. Sifuentes, No.
02-16-00001-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 1988, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 25, 2016,
no pet.) (mem. op.) (footnotes omitted) (collecting cases); see TEX. R. APP. P. 42.1(a)(2)(A),
(B), 43.2(e), (f). Accordingly, we grant the parties’ joint motions in appellate cause
numbers 10-17-00166-CV and 10-18-00049-CV. As such, we lift the abatement in these
cases, and without regard to the merits and effectuating the parties’ settlement
agreement, we vacate and set aside the trial court’s final judgments in trial court cause
numbers 53310-A and 53310-B, and dismiss these cases with prejudice. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 42.1(a)(2)(A), 43.2(e); see also Sifuentes, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 1988, at *1 & n.8.
Relying on the parties’ settlement agreement, as articulated in the parties’ joint
motion in each case, we order that each party bear their own costs of court and the costs
of these appeals shall be paid by the party incurring same. See TEX. R. APP. P.
Double Diamond, Inc. v. White Bluff Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc. Page 2
42.1(a)(2)(A), (d), 43.4. And furthermore, we order that this Court’s mandate in each of
these cases shall issue immediately.
AL SCOGGINS
Justice
Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Scoggins
Motions granted; cases dismissed
Opinion delivered and filed December 19, 2018
[CV06]
Double Diamond, Inc. v. White Bluff Prop. Owners Ass’n, Inc. Page 3