Wesley Perkins v. Whitney Brewster, Executive Director, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Bruce Elfant, Tax Assessor Collector for Travis County And Steve McCraw, Director, Texas Department of Public Safety ( 2018 )

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-17-00744-CV
Wesley Perkins, Appellant
v.
Whitney Brewster, Executive Director, Texas Department of Motor Vehicles;
Bruce Elfant, Tax Assessor Collector for Travis County; and
Steve McCraw, Director, Texas Department of Public Safety, Appellees
FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, 200TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
NO. D-1-GN-17-001773, HONORABLE JAN SOIFER, JUDGE PRESIDING
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On November 8, 2017, appellant Wesley Perkins filed a notice of appeal from an
order of dismissal signed on August 16, 2017. The order granted the motion to dismiss of two of
the three defendants in the underlying case, Whitney Brewster and Steve McCraw. See Tex. R. Civ.
P. 91a (authorizing dismissal of cause of action that has no basis in law or fact). After review, the
Clerk of this Court sent Perkins a letter informing him that the Court appears to lack jurisdiction over
the appeal because our jurisdiction is limited to timely appeals from final judgments or orders that
are otherwise appealable. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 51.014(a); Lehmann v. Har-Con
Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001) (“[T]he general rule, with a few mostly statutory exceptions
is that an appeal may be taken only from a final judgment. A judgment is final for purposes of
appeal if it disposes of all pending parties and claims in the record, except as necessary to carry out
the decree.”). The Clerk requested a response informing us of any basis that exists for jurisdiction.
In response, Perkins filed a motion to recharacterize proceedings as a mandamus and
a supplemental motion to recharacterize proceedings. In his motion to recharacterize, Perkins
acknowledges that the order appealed from is not a final ruling. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal
for want of jurisdiction.1 See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195; Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).
_________________________________________
Jeff L. Rose, Chief Justice
Before Chief Justice Rose, Justices Goodwin and Field
Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction
Filed: March 9, 2018
1
Perkins also filed a motion to abate his appeal pending severance or disposition of his case
against Bruce Elfant. Because we lack jurisdiction over his appeal, we dismiss this motion as moot.
2