Mumtaz Begum v. Kanwal Zahid

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 29, 2023
• Docket: 02-23-00146-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-23-00146-CV ___________________________

MUMTAZ BEGUM, Appellant

V.

KANWAL ZAHID, Appellee

On Appeal from County Court at Law No. 1 Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 2023-001671-1

Before Wallach, J.; Sudderth, C.J.; and Walker, J. Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Mumtaz Begum filed this appeal from the trial court’s judgment

granting Appellee Kanwal Zahid possession of a premises in Southlake, Texas. Zahid

has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the basis that Begum no longer has

possession of the premises. A deputy clerk of this court has confirmed with the trial

court clerk that a writ of possession has already been executed.

Because “[t]he only issue in a forcible detainer action is the right to actual

possession of the premises,” Marshall v. Hous. Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d

782, 785 (Tex. 2006), a forcible detainer appeal becomes moot upon an appellant’s

eviction from the property unless (1) the appellant asserts a meritorious claim of right

to current, actual possession of the property or (2) damages or attorney’s fees remain

at issue. Martinez v. HD Tex. Invs. LLC, No. 02-21-00178-CV, 2021 WL 4319709, at

*1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Sept. 23, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.). The trial court did

not award damages or attorney’s fees in the judgment, and Begum has not filed a

response to Zahid’s motion to show grounds for continuing the appeal.

Because Begum is no longer in possession of the property and there does not

appear to be an ongoing, live controversy between the parties, we vacate the trial

court’s judgment and dismiss this case as moot. Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(e); see Marshall,

198 S.W.3d at 785–90.

Per Curiam

Delivered: June 29, 2023