Jeffery-James Dennis v. Quicken Loans, LLC, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., Rocket Mortgage, LLC, Federal National Mortgage Association

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 29, 2025
• Docket: 01-25-00530-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued August 29, 2025

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-25-00530-CV ——————————— JEFFERY-JAMES DENNIS, Appellant V. QUICKEN LOANS, LLC, MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., ROCKET MORTGAGE, LLC, AND FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCATION, Appellees

On Appeal from the 164th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2024-29392

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant, Jeffery-James Dennis, pro se, attempts to appeal from the trial

court’s various interlocutory orders. We dismiss. In his operative pleading, appellant’s amended petition, appellant brought suit

against Quicken Loans, LLC, N/K/A Rocket Mortgage, LLC, Mortgage Electronic

Registration Systems a/k/a MERS, Inc., Federal National Mortgage Association

a/k/a Fannie Mae, Amy Colvin, and Does I-X. Appellant’s notice of appeal states

that he is appealing a May 10, 2025 trial court order that dismissed his claims against

appellee Federal National Mortgage Association. Appellant also attempts to appeal

a June 24, 2025 oral ruling granting a summary judgment in favor of appellees

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. and Rocket Mortgage, LLC.

On August 8, 2025, our Court notified appellant that the appeal was subject

to dismissal for want of jurisdiction because the record does not appear to contain a

final judgment. Appellant did not respond to our notice.

Generally, a Texas appellate court has jurisdiction to consider only an appeal

from a final judgment. See Lehmann v. Har–Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex.

2001); see also TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1 (appellate timetable runs from date judgment or

order is signed). The clerk’s record must include a copy of the court’s judgment or

other order that is being appealed. TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5. To be final, a judgment must

dispose of all issues and parties in a case. N.E. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400

S.W.2d 893, 895 (Tex. 1966).

Here, the trial court dismissed all of appellant’s claims against Federal

National Mortgage Association. Although appellant claims that the trial court orally

2 granted a summary judgment filed by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems and

Rocket Mortgage, LLC, the record does not contain a signed, written order to that

effect. See Farmer v. Ben E. Keith Co., 907 S.W.2d 495, 496 (Tex. 1995) (“The

appellate timetable does not commence to run other than by a signed, written order,

even when the signing of such an order is purely ministerial.”) (emphasis in

original); TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1 (starting appellate timetable from date judgment is

signed).

Because the claims asserted by appellant against Mortgage Electronic

Registration Systems, Inc. and Rocket Mortgage, LLC were not adjudicated by the

May 10, 2025 order, the record does not contain a final judgment or other appealable

order. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 192–93, 205; see also V.I.P. Royal Palace, LLC

v. Hobby Event Ctr. LLC, No. 01-18-00621-CV, 2020 WL 3579563, at *4 (Tex.

App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 2, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.) (“Because the trial

court’s . . . order does not actually dispose of all claims and all parties, it is

interlocutory and not final . . . .”). Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of

jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). We dismiss any pending motions as moot.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Adams and Justices Caughey and Johnson.