Hien Minh Cao v. Hoang Cao ( 2019 )

Fourth Court of Appeals
San Antonio, Texas
MEMORANDUM OPINION
No. 04-19-00383-CV
Hien Minh CAO,
Appellant
v.
Hoang CAO,
Appellee
From the County Court at Law No. 10, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2019CV03006
Honorable J. Frank Davis, Judge Presiding
PER CURIAM
Sitting: Luz Elena D. Chapa, Justice
Irene Rios, Justice
Beth Watkins, Justice
Delivered and Filed: August 21, 2019
VACATED AND DISMISSED
This is an appeal from a judgment awarding possession in a forcible detainer action. The
issue of possession in a forcible detainer action becomes moot if the judgment is not timely
superseded, the appellant is no longer in possession, and the appellant does not have a potentially
meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession. See Briones v. Brazos Bend Villa Apts.,
438 S.W.3d 808, 812 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, no pet.). If a case is moot, we must
dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. See id.
04-19-00383-CV
In this case, we issued a show cause order, noting a writ of possession had issued, and
appellant had not filed a bond to supersede the judgment. We directed appellant to file a response
explaining why this case should not be dismissed. Appellant, acting pro se, filed a response relating
to the merits of the appeal. The response does not address the issue of whether this appeal is moot.
“Judgment of possession in a forcible detainer action is not intended to be a final
determination of whether the eviction is wrongful; rather, it is a determination of the right to
immediate possession.” Marshall v. Hous. Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 787 (Tex.
2006). When the issue of possession becomes moot we will therefore “vacate the trial court’s
judgment, and dismiss the case as moot.” Id. at 790. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s
judgment and dismiss the case as moot. See id.
PER CURIAM
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