Terry Lee Bizzle v. Eve Lynn Baker ( 2022 )


Menu:
  •                         In the
    Court of Appeals
    Second Appellate District of Texas
    at Fort Worth
    ___________________________
    No. 02-20-00075-CV
    ___________________________
    TERRY LEE BIZZLE, Appellant
    V.
    EVE LYNN BAKER, Appellee
    On Appeal from the 367th District Court
    Denton County, Texas
    Trial Court No. 18-9925-367
    Before Bassel and Womack, JJ.; and Lee Gabriel (Senior Justice, Retired,
    Sitting by Assignment)
    Memorandum Opinion by Justice Gabriel
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    In this appeal, we are asked to decide if the trial court lacked subject matter
    jurisdiction when it signed a final decree of divorce after the appellee, Eve Lynn
    Baker, died. In his first issue, the appellant, Terry Lee Bizzle, asserts that the final
    decree of divorce signed by the trial court after Baker’s death is void due to the trial
    court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We will address only Bizzle’s first issue
    because it is dispositive of this appeal. We reverse the decision of the trial court and
    render judgment dismissing the case.
    I. BACKGROUND1
    On October 23, 2018, Baker filed a divorce petition to dissolve her twenty-year
    marriage to Bizzle. See 
    Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.402
    . Baker alleged insupportability,
    cruel treatment, and abandonment as grounds for divorce in her petition. On May 30,
    2019, Bizzle filed an original counterpetition for divorce alleging insupportability, as
    well as cruel treatment, and adultery by Baker.2
    On September 17, 2019, during a bench trial, there was a great deal of back and
    forth between the court and attorneys dealing with property valuation and division.
    1
    Because our opinion concerns only subject matter jurisdiction, we will confine
    our discussion of the facts accordingly.
    2
    At trial, Baker’s counsel acknowledged she was not pursuing abandonment as
    a ground for divorce. As a result, Bizzle’s counsel withdrew his cruel treatment claim.
    Baker did not withdraw her cruel treatment ground and Bizzle did not withdraw his
    adultery ground. Neither party introduced evidence to support these claims.
    2
    More colloquy with the court, attorneys, and the court reporter followed closing
    arguments. The court then advised counsel that it would need time to make rulings.
    THE COURT: Okay. I’ll say, I cannot do this in 40 minutes. I have to
    do a spreadsheet here, look at the two spreadsheets, see what the
    differences are.
    MR. NELSON: Do you want to e-mail it to us?
    THE COURT: Yes.
    ....
    THE COURT: All right. And so I’m trying to get some idea of how
    long this is going to take. I have one case right now that is going to take
    a little while. This is – this is definitely not going to happen by the end
    of the week. This is – your best hope is a week from Friday.
    I will, though, certainly e-mail the parties with the decision on it.
    The parties were then poised to leave without any ruling in the case.
    THE COURT: Thank you all very much. I appreciate all the work that
    y’all have done for me.
    MR. NELSON: Are we excused?
    THE COURT: Yes.
    After a break on the record, the proceedings resumed.
    THE COURT: That’s what the parties want?
    MS. ROSE: Please.
    THE COURT: (Overlapping) Right? All right. The parties are
    divorced. I pronounce and render all of that as of today and that entry
    of the final decree of divorce will be ministerial in nature.
    On October 4, 2019, the court sent the following email to the attorneys:
    3
    The court never filed this email with the clerk.3
    The court sent the parties an email on November 8, 2019, expressing an intent
    to set the case for a dismissal-for-want-of-prosecution (DWOP) hearing in December
    because a decree had not been submitted. The hearing was set for December 13,
    2019. On December 3, 2019—prior to Baker’s death—the court sent another email
    in response to the parties’ canceling the December dismissal setting. The court
    addressed the delay and its expectation:
    This case was set nearly a month ago for a DWOP. Now, it is reset for a
    DWOP for another six weeks. Please use this six weeks to work out
    3
    Although the trial court never filed the email with the clerk, we have access to
    it because Bizzle attached it as an exhibit to his motion to reconsider and vacate entry
    and, alternatively to reopen evidence and/or reconsider and modify the property
    division.
    4
    whatever is holding up entry of the Order. If there is no Order for me
    to sign on Jan. 24, you should presume a high probability that the case
    will be dismissed on that date. Feel free to efile a Final Decree that has
    at least the signatures of the lawyers before that date.
    On or about December 19, 2019, Baker passed away, and on December 27,
    2019, Baker’s counsel filed a motion to sign. On December 30, 2019, Bizzle filed his
    first notice of death, motion to abate, and motion to dismiss, and he amended that
    pleading on January 3, 2020. The court held its dismissal hearing on January 24, 2020.
    At the dismissal hearing, the court recognized that there were multiple motions
    pending before the court but suggested that “the first question [would] simply be
    whether or not this Court has jurisdiction anymore?” The parties agreed. The entire
    hearing focused on this issue and it was argued at length. A decree was furnished to
    the court. Baker’s counsel represented that “[he] prepared the decree pursuant to
    your instructions. [Counsel for Bizzle] inter--- redlined it, and I was scheduled to
    meet with my client and she died.” The court then stated that “nobody signed on
    the . . . final document because of, again, horrific circumstances.” The court took the
    issue under advisement. On January 31, 2020, the trial court impliedly granted Baker’s
    motion to enter a final decree of divorce when it modified the decree submitted,
    added exhibits, and signed the modified final decree of divorce.4 By signing the
    decree, the trial court denied Bizzle’s pending motions. On February 28, 2020, Bizzle
    4
    At the dismissal hearing, Baker’s counsel was allowed to redact the decree
    presented to the court by marking out the section entitled “Testamentary Provisions”
    on page 12.
    5
    filed a motion to reconsider and vacate entry and alternatively to reopen evidence
    and/or reconsider and modify the property division, which was never ruled on by the
    court. Bizzle brought this appeal.
    II. DISCUSSION
    In his first issue, Bizzle argues that the final decree of divorce is void for lack of
    subject matter jurisdiction because Baker died before a full and final rendition of
    judgment on all issues in the case and because the decree was entered over objection
    after Baker’s death. Bizzle contends that the trial court’s September 17, 2019 oral
    rendition of divorce was interlocutory and that the trial court’s October 4, 2019 email
    was not a rendition because it was never filed with the clerk or officially announced
    on the record and further did not express a present intent to render.
    Subject matter jurisdiction concerns the court’s power to hear and determine a
    particular type of case. CSR Ltd. v. Link, 
    925 S.W.2d 591
    , 594 (Tex. 1996) “Subject-
    matter jurisdiction cannot be waived, and can be raised at any time.” Alfonso v.
    Skadden, 
    251 S.W.3d 52
    , 55 (Tex. 2008). “A judgment is void if rendered by a court
    without subject matter jurisdiction.” In re USAA, 
    307 S.W.3d 299
    , 309 (Tex. 2010)
    (orig. proceeding). Whether a trial court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question
    subject to de novo review. See Mayhew v. Town of Sunnyvale, 
    964 S.W.2d 922
    , 928 (Tex.
    1998); In re G.S.G., 
    145 S.W.3d 351
    , 353 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, no
    pet.).
    6
    “In Texas, marriage may only be terminated by death or court decree.” In re
    Wilburn, 
    18 S.W.3d 837
    , 840 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2000, pet denied) (citing Claveria v.
    Claveria, 
    615 S.W.2d 164
    , 167 (Tex. 1981)). It is well settled that a cause of action for
    a divorce is purely personal and abates on either party’s death prior to the rendition of
    judgment on the merits. Whatley v. Bacon, 
    649 S.W.2d 297
    , 299 (Tex. 1983) (orig.
    proceeding) (“Death of a party abates a divorce action and its incidental inquiries of
    property rights and child custody.”); McKenzie v. McKenzie, 
    667 S.W.2d 568
    , 571–72
    (Tex. App.—Dallas 1984, no writ).        However, when a trial court has properly
    rendered judgment that is a full and final adjudication of the merits of the issues in a
    divorce case, including the property rights of the parties, the cause does not abate
    when a party dies. Dunn v. Dunn, 
    439 S.W.2d 830
    , 833 (Tex. 1969); Novotny v. Novotny,
    
    665 S.W.2d 171
    , 173–74 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, writ dism’d). “Thus a
    written judgment signed by the trial judge is not a prerequisite to the finality of a
    judgment.” Dunn, 439 S.W.2d at 832–33.
    While the issue is whether the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction
    when the final decree was entered, the answer to that question depends on whether
    the oral rendition on September 17, 2019, or the oral rendition plus the email of
    October 4, 2019, are legally sufficient to constitute a full and final rendition of
    judgment in the case.
    We will address the oral rendition first. It is undisputed that at the conclusion
    of the hearing, the trial court took the property valuation and division issues under
    7
    advisement and advised the parties that a ruling of the court would be delivered at a
    later date. It appears from the record that, after being excused and off the record, one
    or both parties requested the judge to pronounce that the parties were divorced as of
    that date. When returning to the record, the trial judge stated: “The parties are
    divorced. I pronounce and render all of that as of today and that entry of the final
    decree of divorce will be ministerial in nature.” It is unclear what might have been
    meant by “all of that.”        Yet it is clear that the oral rendition was merely an
    interlocutory order because the court, during the same hearing, orally reserved ruling
    on all property issues until a later date.5
    Rendition of judgment is “the judicial act by which the court settles and
    declares the decision of the law upon the matters at issue.” Genesis Prod. Co. v. Smith
    Big Oil Corp., 
    454 S.W.3d 655
    , 659 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, no pet.)
    (citing Comet Aluminum Co. v. Dibrell, 
    450 S.W.2d 56
    , 58 (Tex. 1970) (orig.
    proceeding)).     “In order to be an official judgment, the trial court’s oral
    pronouncement must indicate an intent to render a full, final and complete judgment
    at that point in time.” Gamboa v. Gamboa, 
    383 S.W.3d 263
    , 270 (Tex. App.—San
    Antonio 2012, no pet.); In re Marriage of Joyner, 
    196 S.W.3d 883
    , 887 (Tex. App.—
    The issue of divorce and the issue of property division are not severable.
    5
    Because Section 7.001 of the Texas Family Code makes the division of property in a
    divorce action mandatory, it is error for the trial court to sever the issue of divorce
    from the issue of property division. See Vautrain v. Vautrain, 
    646 S.W.2d 309
    , 316
    (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1983, writ dism’d) (“The divorce was interlocutory until the
    disposition of all issues. . . .”).
    8
    Texarkana 2006, pet. denied) (stating that the trial court’s words, whether spoken or
    written, must evince a present, as opposed to future, act that effectively decides the
    issues before the court). The record shows that many issues essential to the divorce
    judgment were unresolved on September 17, 2019. Accordingly, the record shows the
    trial court did not render a full and complete judgment at that time. See Gamboa,
    
    383 S.W.3d at 270
    ; MacGillivray v. MacGillivray, No. 04-10-00109-CV, 
    2011 WL 2150352
    , at *4 (Tex. App.—San Antonio June 1, 2011, pet. denied) (mem. op.)
    (holding trial court did not render judgment when it stated the parties were divorced
    before the jury had rendered its decision and before the trial court had decided the
    remaining issues). Thus, the trial court’s oral pronouncement on September 17, 2019,
    was not a full, final, and complete judgment.6
    Next we will consider whether the October 4, 2019 email transformed the
    interlocutory oral pronouncement into a final judgment. “Judgment is rendered when
    the trial court officially announces its decision in open court or by written
    memorandum filed with the clerk.” S&A Rest. Corp. v. Leal, 
    892 S.W.2d 855
    , 857
    (Tex. 1995); Wittau v. Storie, 
    145 S.W.3d 732
    , 735 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2004, no
    pet.) (per curiam). It is undisputed that the trial court’s ruling on which ground
    (alleged, but not withdrawn) it was granting the divorce and its property issues rulings
    6
    The trial court stated that the entry of the decree would be ministerial in
    nature, and Baker relies on that characterization. But the trial court’s oral
    pronouncement was not a full, final, and complete judgment, and just because the
    court said the entry of the decree would be a ministerial act does not make it so.
    9
    were not delivered orally in open court. It is also undisputed that the October 4, 2019
    email was never filed by the court with the clerk.
    At the January 24, 2020 dismissal hearing, where this issue was thoroughly
    argued, Baker relied heavily on Dunn. See 439 S.W.2d at 831–34. While Dunn’s facts
    concerning a divorce filing, a trial, and the death of one party before a decree was
    signed resemble the facts of this case, that is where the similarities end. At the
    conclusion of the trial in Dunn, the trial judge stated, “May I say as a preliminary
    remark, and I am going to decide the case right now, not going to take it under
    advisement. I am going to grant the divorce to Mrs. Dunn . . . .” Id. at 831. The trial
    court went on to orally pronounce a decision on property division, payment of certain
    taxes, and attorney’s fees. Id. at 831–32. Two days later, Mr. Dunn passed away. Id.
    at 832. Mrs. Dunn filed a motion to dismiss, which was denied by the court, and a
    final decree of divorce, reflecting the orally pronounced rulings of the court, was
    signed. Id. The supreme court found the trial court’s oral judgment to be a final
    judgment that was dispositive of all the issues. Id. at 833. On the record, the trial
    judge in Dunn made it perfectly clear that it was his intent to pronounce, and that he
    was pronouncing, a final ruling in the case.         Id. at 831.    Dunn is factually
    distinguishable from this case.
    On appeal, Baker took a largely different approach to this issue. Baker relies
    on cases that state that “a decision announced by letter from the court to the parties
    when no announcement is made in open court or any memorandum filed with the
    10
    clerk, would constitute rendition.” Ortiz v. O.J. Beck & Sons, Inc. 
    611 S.W.2d 860
    , 865
    (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1980, no writ.) (per curiam); see Rhima v. White,
    
    829 S.W.2d 909
    , 913 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1992, writ denied); Estes v. Carlton,
    
    708 S.W.2d 594
    , 596 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.); Atlantic Richfield
    Co. v. Exxon Corp., 
    663 S.W.2d 858
    , 863 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1983), rev’d
    on other grounds, 
    678 S.W.2d 944
     (Tex. 1984).
    In Ortiz, the jurisdiction of the appellate court was challenged because the
    appeal bond was filed 31 days after a judgment was signed and filed on September 24,
    1979. Ortiz, 611 S.W.2d at 863. A letter dated the following day from the trial court
    to the attorneys created the issue of the actual date of rendition. Id. In that case, the
    court noted that “the record does contain a letter dated September 25, 1979, and
    signed by the trial judge which informed the attorneys of his decision in the case on
    the merits and stated that the judgment would be ‘. . . entered as of this date.’” Id. at
    864. On October 25, 1979, the trial judge signed an order amending the judgment to
    reflect a date of September 25, 1979, instead of September 24, 1979. Id. The court
    found that the trial judge’s letter to counsel was the public announcement and
    rendition of the court’s final decision and that appellate timelines began on
    September 25, 1979; thus, the appeal bond was timely filed. Id.
    The issue in Ortiz differs from the issue in this case. The sole issue in Ortiz was
    whether an appeal was timely perfected. No one challenged the sufficiency of the
    letter as expressing a full and final ruling on all issues or asserted that it did not
    11
    express a present intent to render judgment. The letter in Ortiz, which was filed of
    record, is substantially different from the email in this case. The trial judge in Ortiz
    included in the letter his decision on the merits and expressed in clear terms a present
    intention that the letter be considered the judgment rendered as of that date. Id. The
    unfiled email in the present case, on the other hand, expressed the court’s uncertainty
    as to whether the rulings contained in the email answered all the outstanding
    questions and expressed a willingness to entertain any issues that had been missed.
    Ortiz decides a different issue on very different facts and is not persuasive in this
    analysis.
    Atlantic Richfield Co. also dealt with a timing-of-rendition question that would
    determine whether a party could pursue discovery. 
    663 S.W.2d at 864
    . Although the
    trial judge signed an order granting partial summary judgment on May 10, 1982, the
    court found April 2, 1982 to be the date of rendition of the partial summary judgment
    in the case because “that is the date when the trial court’s decision was publicly
    announced both through a memorandum filed with the clerk, i.e., the initialed docket
    entry, and letter to counsel for one of the parties.” 
    Id. at 863
     (emphasis added). The
    memorandum filed with the clerk by the trial judge stated “Apr 2 1982 M/Partial S.J.
    granted. W.E.J.” 
    Id. at 862
    . The April 2, 1982 ruling filed with the clerk was a clear
    and final ruling granting a partial summary judgment, and the court’s present intent to
    finally rule on April 2, 1982 was not the issue in that case. As with Ortiz, Atlantic
    Richfield’s facts and issues are distinguishable from the case at hand.
    12
    Estes is another case that deals with whether an appeal was perfected by the
    timely filing of a cost bond. 708 S.W.2d at 595–96. The facts showed that there were
    two judgments signed in the case—one on November 14, 1984, and one on
    February 11, 1985—leaving the question of which judgment was the final judgment
    that started the timeline for appeal. Id. The court held “that there [were] two
    judgments ‘shown of record’ in this cause.” Id. at 595. The court reasoned that
    because the February judgment was signed over 30 days after the November
    judgment was signed, the February judgment was signed when the trial court no
    longer had plenary power over the November judgment.            The court found the
    February judgment had no effect. Id. The issue resolved was not whether either
    judgment was final based on the contents of the document but simply which
    judgment started the timeline for filing an appeal bond. The case is not controlling of
    our issue because the facts and issues are dissimilar.
    Rhima involves a ruling on a motion for summary judgment that was heard by
    the trial court on June 28, 1990. 829 S.W.2d at 913. The court sent an August 7, 1990
    letter containing its decision to grant the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.
    Id. It appears that “neither a docket entry nor memorandum of judgment was made
    at the time.” Id. On August 13, 1990, the plaintiff attempted to amend his petition
    without leave of court. Id. The trial court struck the amended petition, and that
    ruling was appealed. Id. The court found that the trial court did not abuse its
    discretion by striking the pleading because leave was not obtained to amend it
    13
    pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 63. Id.; see Tex. R. Civ. P. 63.7 The
    court in Rhima determined that Rule 63 applied and that the plaintiff could not amend
    his petition after the summary judgment hearing. 829 S.W.2d at 913. In dicta, the
    court further reasoned that because there had been no announcement in open court
    of a ruling and because a letter from the court to the parties can, in certain
    circumstances, amount to a rendition, the plaintiff could not amend after the date of
    the letter. Id. The letter itself was not the issue in Rhima. There was no challenge that
    the letter was not a full and final resolution of all issues or that it was not a rendition.
    The issue in Rhima is not the issue in the present case.
    Bizzle relies on cases that apply a filing requirement for a written rendition of
    judgment. “A trial court’s letter to the parties setting out its findings and requesting
    counsel to prepare a judgment has been held to be a memorandum that can serve as
    the rendition of judgment if it is filed with the clerk.” Robert v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.,
    
    406 S.W.3d 702
    , 705 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2013, no pet.); see Abarca v. Roadstar Corp. of
    Am., 
    647 S.W.2d 327
    , 327–28 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1982, no writ).8 It is
    7
    Rule 63 governs the timing of amendments and requires that a party amend its
    pleadings more than seven days before trial unless leave of court is granted for a later
    filing. 
    Id.
     “A summary judgment proceeding is a trial within the meaning of Rule 63.”
    Love v. Sneed, 
    802 S.W.2d 422
    , 423 (Tex. App.—Austin 1991, no writ) (per curiam).
    8
    Baker argues that the October 4, 2019 email was filed with the clerk when
    Bizzle attached it as an exhibit to his motion to reconsider and vacate entry and that it
    “related back to the original date the rendition letter was sent.” Baker cites Roberts for
    this argument. Roberts does not support this argument but instead states explicitly that
    the letter in that case was filed with the clerk the day after it was sent. Roberts,
    14
    undisputed that the email in question was not filed with the clerk, but our analysis will
    not stop here because “[t]he question of whether judgment has been rendered is
    distinct from the issue of whether the form of the judgment is final.” Roberts,
    406 S.W.3d at 705.
    Bizzle also argues that the October 4, 2019 email is not a full and complete
    judgment that reflects a present intent to render judgment. We agree. The facts and
    the issues in the present case are analogous to Ex Parte Gnesoulis. 
    525 S.W.2d 205
    ,
    207–08 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1975, orig. proceeding). In this family law
    case, the court found that an unfiled letter containing rulings and signed by the court
    did not, as a matter of law, constitute a rendition of judgment in the case. 
    Id.
     The
    court first found that the letter was not a rendition because although it was signed by
    the judge, it was not “delivered to the clerk for filing, signifying to the clerk in his
    official capacity and for his official guidance the sentence of law pronounced by the
    judge.” 
    Id. at 209
    ; see Dibrell, 450 S.W.2d at 56. The court’s letter in Ex parte Gnesoulis
    stated, “I have concluded that Judgment should be entered in the above cause as
    follows . . . .” 525 S.W.2d at 207. Thereafter, the court set forth twelve specific
    paragraphs containing rulings on custody, property issues, and costs. Id. at 207–08.
    The court then went further than the court in the present case to say that if the parties
    406 S.W.3d at 706. Nowhere in that case does the court find that a copy of a letter
    attached as an exhibit to a motion satisfies the requirement of filing with the clerk or
    that if such a filing occurred it would relate back to the date of the letter.
    15
    could not agree on the substance of the judgment, argument would not be allowed
    “until after a formal Judgment is entered.” Id. at 208. The court stated,
    [I]t is obvious from the very general terms of the provisions . . . that the
    trial judge intended this letter to be no more than a guideline upon
    which the attorneys for both parties were to draw up and submit their
    proposed judgments. In spite of the fact that the trial judge indicated
    that he would not hear arguments about the substance of the judgment
    until the entrance of a final judgment and motions for new trial filed
    subsequent thereto, the judge left a great deal of room for refinement
    and definition of terms of the judgment as proposed in the letter. It is
    the useful prerogative of the trial judge to communicate, both orally and
    in writing, with the attorneys of the parties in crystallizing the provisions
    of a judgment prior to rendition.
    Id. at 209.
    In the present case, the email sent by the trial judge contained ten brief rulings
    that did not encompass a single page. Further, the court explicitly left open the issue
    of whether “I have missed something . . . .” and invited the attorneys to send an email
    to express what remained unaddressed. The court’s email allowed for the possibility
    of further rulings and clarifications. It did not express a present intent to render a full,
    final, and complete judgment at that point in time. See Gamboa, 
    383 S.W.3d at 270
    ;
    Joyner, 
    196 S.W.3d at 886
    .
    A final decree was not presented to the court until after Baker died. The
    decree presented was fourteen pages long. One must only look at the decree to
    determine that it contains numerous provisions not addressed in the email. One such
    example is the section dealing with the treatment and allocation of community income
    16
    for years 2018 and 2019. Indeed, this was a property issue completely unaddressed in
    the court’s email.
    The decree itself also raises concerns.       Throughout the decree there are
    provisions that state “the parties agree.” There is nothing in the record to support the
    proposition that the parties ever agreed to any provision in this decree and certainly
    none that there was an agreement at the time the decree was signed, when one of the
    parties had been deceased for several weeks. At the hearing on the motion to enter
    filed by Baker, her counsel imparted the only information about the efforts to obtain
    an agreement on the decree when he stated that once a draft of the decree was
    prepared “[counsel for Bizzle] inter --- redlined it, and I was scheduled to meet with
    my client and she died.” It seems clear from these facts that there was never an
    agreement, yet the decree repeatedly recites that “the parties agree,” “the parties
    understand,” and “the parties acknowledge.” Finally, the decree the trial court signed
    contains the following:
    Petitioner and Respondent each acknowledge that before signing this
    Final Decree of Divorce they have read this Final Decree of Divorce
    fully and completely, have had the opportunity to ask any question
    regarding the same, and fully understand that the contents of this Final
    Decree of Divorce constitute a full and complete resolution of this case.
    Petitioner and Respondent acknowledge that they have voluntarily
    affixed their signatures to this Final Decree of Divorce, believing this
    agreement to be a just and right division of the marital debt and
    assets. . . .
    The decree did not bear the signature of either party or their attorneys.
    17
    “As a general rule, a party may effectively withdraw consent to an agreement
    prior to a rendition of a judgment.” Skidmore v. Glenn, 
    781 S.W.2d 672
    , 673 (Tex.
    App.—Dallas 1989, no writ); see Samples Exterminators v. Samples, 
    640 S.W.2d 873
    , 874
    (Tex. 1982). Although there is no evidence, by a signature or otherwise, that Bizzle
    ever agreed to the decree’s provisions, the motions filed by his counsel after Baker’s
    death made it clear he did not agree to the rendition of judgment and the signing of
    the decree.
    Having found that the September 17, 2019 oral pronouncement was not a
    rendition of judgment of all issues in the case, we further find that the October 4,
    2019 email was not a full, complete, and final rendition of judgment either standing
    alone or in combination with the prior oral pronouncement. The parties’ marriage
    was therefore terminated by Baker’s death. The final decree in the case is void for
    lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and we sustain Bizzle’s first issue. We need not
    address Bizzle’s remaining issues. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.1.
    III. CONCLUSION
    Having sustained Bizzle’s first issue, we reverse the judgment of the trial court
    and render judgment dismissing the case as moot. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(c); City of
    Garland v. Louton, 
    691 S.W.2d 603
    , 605 (Tex. 1985).
    18
    /s/ Lee Gabriel
    Lee Gabriel
    Justice
    Delivered: January 13, 2022
    19