Michelle Booker v. Carolyn Wilson Booker

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston)
• Decided: May 5, 2026
• Docket: 01-25-00731-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued May 5, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-25-00731-CV ——————————— MICHELLE BOOKER, Appellant V. CAROLYN WILSON BOOKER, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Civil Court at Law No. 4 Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1256649

MEMORANDUM OPINION

In this forcible-detainer action, appellant Michelle Booker appeals from the

county court’s judgment granting possession of certain real property to appellee,

Carolyn Booker. We dismiss the appeal as moot. The only issue in a forcible-detainer action is the right to actual possession of

the subject property; “the merits of title shall not be adjudicated.” TEX. R. CIV. P.

510.3(e); see Wilhelm v. Fed. Nat. Mortg. Ass’n, 349 S.W.3d 766, 768 (Tex. App.—

Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, no pet.). An appeal from a forcible-detainer action

becomes moot if the appellant is no longer in possession of the property, unless the

appellant holds and asserts “a potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual

possession” of the property. Marshall v. Hous. Auth. of the City of San Antonio, 198

S.W.3d 782, 786–87 (Tex. 2006); see Wilhelm, 349 S.W.3d at 768; Gallien v. Fed.

Home Loan Mortg. Corp., No. 01-07-00075-CV, 2008 WL 4670465, at *2–4 (Tex.

App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Oct. 23, 2008, pet. dism’d w.o.j.) (mem. op.). We lack

jurisdiction to decide moot controversies. See Guillen v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 494

S.W.3d 861, 864–65 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, no pet.).

The parties’ filings indicated that appellant no longer possessed the disputed

property. On March 3, 2026, this Court notified appellant that the appeal would be

dismissed absent a response asserting a potentially meritorious claim of current,

actual possession, and ordered a special clerk’s record containing the executed writ

of possession. The trial court clerk filed the executed writ, and appellant’s response

failed to assert a potentially meritorious claim of a right to current, actual possession.

Accordingly, we vacate the county court’s judgment and dismiss the case as

moot. See Marshall, 198 S.W.3d at 785, 787, 790 (when case becomes moot on

2 appeal, appellate court must set aside trial court judgment and dismiss case);

Wilhelm, 349 S.W.3d at 769; Bey v. ASD Fin., Inc., No. 05-14-00534-CV, 2014 WL

4180933, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas Aug. 11, 2014, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing

appeal of forcible detainer action as moot because appellant no longer possessed

property at issue); TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). We dismiss all other pending motions as

moot.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Adams and Justices Guerra and Guiney.