Vicki Rosborough v. TD Industries, INC.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 28, 2025
• Docket: 01-25-00019-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued August 28, 2025

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-25-00019-CV ——————————— VICKI ROSBOROUGH, Appellant V. TD INDUSTRIES, INC., Appellee

On Appeal from the 215th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2018-17077

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On August 12, 2025, we sent notice to the parties that it appeared that we

lacked jurisdiction over this appeal because the appellate record lacked any final

judgment and that counterclaims remained below. On August 22, 2025, appellant

filed an unopposed motion to abate the appeal, conceding that the record did not contain a final judgment, but requesting that we abate the appeal for the trial court

to sign a final judgment.

Generally, appeals may be taken only from signed, final judgments. 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 the date the judgment or order is

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

order being appealed. TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5. An appellant may file a notice of

appeal before the trial court reduces the judgment to writing and signs it, but the

appellate court will not proceed until a written, signed judgment has been filed.

TEX. R. APP. P. 27.1; see State v. Shaw, 4 S.W.3d 875, 878 (Tex. App.—Dallas

1999, no pet.) (stating that docket sheet entry is not substitute for signed written

order).

Further, the record shows that an underlying defendant has a pending

counterclaim below. See New York Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Sanchez, 799 S.W.2d

677, 678–79 (Tex. 1990) (“In the absence of a special statute making an

interlocutory order appealable, a judgment must dispose of all issues and parties in

the case, including those presented by counterclaim or cross action, to be final and

appealable.”); Palavan v. McCulley, Boulevard Realty LLC, and TBW Dev., LLC,

No. 01-14-00604-CV, 2015 WL 1544520, at *1–2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]

2 Apr. 2, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.) (concluding that appellate court lacked

jurisdiction because counterclaims remained pending).

Although we can abate for the trial court to clarify whether its judgment was

final, no clarification is needed here because, as conceded by appellant, the trial

court has not signed a final judgment. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 206 & n.92.

Accordingly, we dismiss the 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.