State of Texas v. Thirty-Nine Thousand Five Hundred Dollars US Currency ($39,500)
This text of State of Texas v. Thirty-Nine Thousand Five Hundred Dollars US Currency ($39,500) (State of Texas v. Thirty-Nine Thousand Five Hundred Dollars US Currency ($39,500)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-19-00195-CV
STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLANT
V.
THIRTY-NINE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS US CURRENCY ($39,500.00), APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 47th District Court Potter County, Texas Trial Court No. 107758-A-CV, Honorable Dan L. Schaap, Presiding
July 26, 2019
MEMORANDUM OPINION Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL and PIRTLE, JJ.
Appellant, the State of Texas, attempts to appeal the trial court’s order granting a
petition for bill of review, setting aside a default judgment, and ordering a new trial in favor
of appellee, Zenayda Guadalupe Portillo-Rodriguez. We dismiss the appeal for want of
jurisdiction.
This court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a final judgment or from an
interlocutory order made immediately appealable by statute. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); Stary v. DeBord, 967 S.W.2d 352, 352-53 (Tex.
1998) (per curiam). The Texas Supreme Court has held that a bill of review that sets
aside a prior judgment but does not dispose of the case on the merits is interlocutory and
not appealable. Jordan v. Jordan, 907 S.W.2d 471, 472 (Tex. 1995) (per curiam).
By letter of June 28, 2019, we notified the parties that it did not appear a final
judgment or appealable order had been issued by the trial court and directed the State to
show how we have jurisdiction over the appeal. The State filed a response claiming that
the trial court has treated the order as a final order and, therefore, it is appealable. The
State also requested that we “treat the matter as a Petition for Mandamus” as an
alternative to dismissing the appeal.
Because the trial court’s order in this case sets aside a prior judgment and grants
a new trial on the merits, we are without jurisdiction to review the interlocutory order.
Jordan, 907 S.W.2d at 472. We also decline to treat the appeal as a petition for writ of
mandamus because the State has not filed a petition or record in accordance with Rule
of Appellate Procedure 52.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.1 TEX. R. APP. P.
42.3(a).
Per Curiam
1 With its notice, the State filed a motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal pursuant to Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3. In response, Portillo-Rodriguez filed a motion opposing the extension and requesting dismissal of the appeal. Because we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction, the motions are rendered moot.
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