Verdant Ventures LP Acres Homes Realty Corp. and the Real Property Known as 8503 North Freeway, Houston, Texas 77037 v. the City of Houston ( 2018 )

Opinion issued March 20, 2018
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-18-00128-CV
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VERDANT VENTURES LP; ACRES HOME REALTY CORP; AND THE
REAL PROPERTY KNOWN AS 8503 NORTH FREEWAY, HOUSTON,
TEXAS 77037, Appellants
V.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ET AL., Appellees
On Appeal from the 61st District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2016-17739
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellants, Verdant Ventures LP; Acres Home Realty Corp; and the Real
Property Known as 8503 North Freeway, Houston, Texas 77037, timely appealed
from the trial court’s interlocutory order, signed on February 5, 2018, granting a
temporary injunction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). On March 5, 2018, appellants
filed a motion to dismiss this appeal without prejudice because the trial court vacated
the temporary injunction.1 See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). More than ten days have
passed, but no response has been filed to the motion. See id. 10.3(a).
Generally, this Court has civil appellate jurisdiction over final judgments or
interlocutory orders specifically authorized as appealable by statute. See TEX. CIV.
PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 51.012, 51.014(a)(1)–(12) (West 2014); Lehmann v.
Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). However, while this Court has
jurisdiction over this appeal, the trial court’s act of vacating the temporary injunction
renders this appeal moot because there is no longer an appealable final judgment or
interlocutory order in the record. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §
51.014(a)(4); see, e.g., Zapata v. Clear Creek Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 01-15-00346-
CV, 2015 WL 7737626, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 1, 2015, no pet.)
(granting joint motion to dismiss appeal for want of jurisdiction after trial court
vacated final judgment on appeal). “Appellate courts are prohibited from deciding
moot controversies.” Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Jones, 1 S.W.3d 83, 86 (Tex.
1999). Mootness deprives this Court of jurisdiction. See Valley Baptist Med. Ctr.
1
Because appellants’ motion did not attach the order, the Clerk of this Court has
requested that the district clerk file a certified copy of the trial court’s March 1, 2018
order which vacated the temporary injunction.
2
v. Gonzalez, 33 S.W.3d 821, 822 (Tex. 2000). Thus, we must dismiss this appeal
for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
Accordingly, we grant appellants’ motion and dismiss this appeal for want of
jurisdiction as moot. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Keyes, and Higley.
3