Texas Farm Bureau Underwriters, a Texas Corporation v. Guadalupe Castro, Individually, and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated ( 2024 )

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-24-00121-CV
___________________________
TEXAS FARM BUREAU UNDERWRITERS, A TEXAS CORPORATION,
Appellant
V.
GUADALUPE CASTRO, INDIVIDUALLY, AND ON BEHALF OF ALL OTHERS
SIMILARLY SITUATED, Appellee
On Appeal from the 342nd District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 342-335023-22
Before Womack, Wallach, and Walker, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Texas Farm Bureau Underwriters, a Texas Corporation, appealed the
trial court’s interlocutory order granting a motion for class certification filed by
Appellee Guadalupe Castro, Individually, and on Behalf of All Others Similarly
Situated. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(a)(3). After the notice of
appeal was filed, we received an order from the trial court vacating the order granting
Appellee’s motion for class certification. See Tex. R. App. P. 29.5 (“While an appeal
from an interlocutory order is pending, the trial court retains jurisdiction of the
case and . . . may make further orders, including one dissolving the order complained
of 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). A case becomes moot if a
justiciable controversy ceases to exist at any stage of the legal proceedings, including
the appeal. In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d 732, 737 (Tex. 2005) (orig.
proceeding); Williams v. Lara, 52 S.W.3d 171, 184 (Tex. 2001).
On March 21, 2024, we notified Appellant that its appeal appeared to be moot.
We informed Appellant that unless it filed a response by April 1, 2024, showing
grounds for continuing the appeal, we would dismiss it as moot. See Tex. R. App.
P. 44.3. Appellant has not filed a response. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal as
moot. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f); Alorica and Alorica, Inc. v. Jasso, No. 08-18-00158-
CV, 2018 WL 6191488, at *1 (Tex. App.—El Paso Nov. 28, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.)
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(dismissing appeal from interlocutory order as moot where trial court vacated
interlocutory order while appeal was pending); Morris v. Madrigal, No. 13-15-00203-
CV, 2015 WL 3637841, at *1 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg June 11, 2015,
no pet.) (mem. op.) (“Because the trial court has vacated the order subject to appeal,
we conclude that this appeal has been rendered moot.”).
/s/ Dana Womack
Dana Womack
Justice
Delivered: April 18, 2024
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