Rustton Webster v. Ashley Webster ( 2022 )

Fourth Court of Appeals
San Antonio, Texas
MEMORANDUM OPINION
No. 04-22-00462-CV
Rustton WEBSTER,
Appellant
v.
Ashley WEBSTER,
Appellee
From the 25th Judicial District Court, Guadalupe County, Texas
Trial Court No. 19-0189-CV-A
Honorable Jessica Crawford, Judge Presiding
PER CURIAM
Sitting: Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice
Luz Elena D. Chapa, Justice
Irene Rios, Justice
Delivered and Filed: October 12, 2022
DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION
On July 15, 2022, Appellant filed a request for reporter’s record that was also his notice of
appeal from a post-judgment hearing on July 13, 2022. On September 1, 2022, this court ordered
Appellant to show cause why his appeal should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction because
the record contained no signed order from the trial court for the hearing. Appellant responded but
provided no signed order. Appellant explained that he wanted to challenge the underlying
mediated settlement agreement in the case, for which the trial court signed a final judgment on
May 19, 2021.
04-22-00462-CV
Generally, “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.” Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). The time
to appeal such a final judgment under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1 generally expires
thirty days after the signed final judgment. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1; Kenneth D. Eichner, P.C. v.
Dominguez, 623 S.W.3d 358, 359 (Tex. 2021). A timely-filed motion to vacate can extend the
appellate timetable, but it must be filed within thirty days of the trial court’s judgment. See Aero
at Sp. Z.O.O. v. Gartman, 469 S.W.3d 314, 316 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2015, no pet.).
Here, what must be considered the final judgment in the case, the May 19, 2021 judgment,
was signed more than a year before this appeal. Appellant’s May 9, 2022 petition to vacate was
filed nearly a year after the trial court’s final judgment. Both the petition to vacate and Appellant’s
appeal were untimely to challenge the trial court’s final judgment. Furthermore, there is no signed
order from the July 13, 2022 hearing in the record. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want
of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM
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