Defendant's Attorney:

Description:

San Antonio, Texas landlord and tenant lawyers represented tenant and landlord in a forcible detainer action.

"Tenant to vacate by 8-31-24[;] if not eviction granted and writ to be issued."

"[A] final judgment cannot be conditioned upon future or uncertain events." Clarent Energy Servs., Inc. v. Leasing Ventures, LLC, No. 01-18-00036-CV, 2018 WL 4087003, at *1 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 28, 2018, no pet.) (per curiam) (mem. op.). "A judgment must be definite to be final, and a conditional order, therefore, is not final for purposes of appeal." See, e.g., In re Guardianship of Bernsen, No. 13-20-00241-CV, 2020 WL 4812639, at *1 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi-Edinburg Aug. 13, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.).

The handwritten notation in the challenged judgment conditions the judgment on a future event-i.e., whether appellant vacated the premises after the judgment was signed. Because the judgment is therefore conditional rather than final, we ABATE this appeal and REMAND this cause to the trial court. We ORDER appellant to ensure that a supplemental clerk's record with a final, appealable judgment is filed in this court by October 21, 2024. If appellant fails to cure the jurisdictional defect as ordered, we will reinstate this appeal and dismiss it for want of jurisdiction without further notice. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). All other appellate deadlines are suspended pending our determination of whether we have jurisdiction over this appeal.

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Collier v. Coppermill, 04-24-00589-CV (Tex. App. Sep 20, 2024)

Outcome: Abated and remanded.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: