Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr. v. Automotive Financial Group, Inc., AFG Companies, Inc., Travis Gates, Genuine Lifetime, LLC, and Tyler Luck

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth)
• Decided: March 19, 2026
• Docket: 02-25-00544-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-25-00544-CV ___________________________

MAURICE FITZPATRICK JR., Appellant

V.

AUTOMOTIVE FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., AFG COMPANIES, INC., TRAVIS GATES, GENUINE LIFETIME, LLC, AND TYLER LUCK, Appellees

On Appeal from the 48th District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 048-352249-24

Before Birdwell, Bassel, and Womack, JJ. Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr., proceeding pro se, attempts to appeal the

trial court’s “ongoing failure to adjudicate his Motion to Intervene, filed on

November 12, 2024[,] . . . and other related procedural violations and actions.” This is

Fitzpatrick’s second attempt to appeal the trial court’s “failure to rule on his

[m]otion.” See Fitzpatrick v. AFG Cos., Inc., No. 02-25-00006-CV, 2025 WL 647339, at

*1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 27, 2025, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing appeal for

want of jurisdiction because trial court had not signed any appealable orders or final

judgments). As in the first appeal, Fitzpatrick’s notice of appeal is premature. See Tex.

R. App. P. 26.1(a), 27.1(a).

We have jurisdiction to consider appeals only from final judgments and from

certain interlocutory orders made immediately appealable by statute. See Lehmann v.

Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code

Ann. § 51.014(a) (listing appealable interlocutory orders). Without a final judgment or

an appealable interlocutory order, we lack jurisdiction over the appeal, and we must

dismiss it. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195, 200.

Here, there is no final judgment or appealable interlocutory order. On October

24, 2025, we notified Fitzpatrick of our concern that we lack jurisdiction over this

appeal because it did not appear that the trial court had entered a final judgment or an

appealable interlocutory order. We warned Fitzpatrick that we could dismiss this

appeal for want of jurisdiction unless he or any party desiring to continue the appeal

2 filed a response by November 3, 2025, showing grounds for continuing it. See Tex. R.

App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. Fitzpatrick did not file a response or furnish this court with an

appealable order or final judgment, and the trial court clerk has confirmed that the

trial court has not signed any orders or final judgments in this case.

Because there is no final judgment or order subject to appeal, we lack

jurisdiction over this appeal. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195, 200. Accordingly, we

dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. 1 See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).

Per Curiam

Delivered: March 19, 2026

On January 23, 2026, Appellees Automotive Financial Group, Inc. and AFG 1

Companies, Inc. moved to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Given our disposition, the motion is granted. On February 5, 2026, Fitzpatrick filed “Appellant’s Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief and Stay of Trial-Court Proceedings Pending Appeal.” That motion is denied as moot.