Willis Martin, Jr. v. City of Temple

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 13, 2009
• Docket: 03-08-00604-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

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NO. 03-08-00604-CV

Willis Martin, Jr., Appellant

v.

City of Temple, Appellee

FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BELL COUNTY, 169TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

NO. 222,223-C, HONORABLE GORDON G. ADAMS, JUDGE PRESIDING

M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N

Appellant Willis Martin, Jr. filed suit against appellee the City of Temple, Wayne Dawson, and a number of City employees and board members. On June 27, 2008, the trial court signed an order granting summary judgment in favor of most of the individual employees and board members named in Martin's pleadings, excepting Jimmy Taylor, Kathleen Barina, Wanda Gallaway, ⁽¹⁾ and Jason Vandeveer. His claims against Wayne Dawson also remained live and unaddressed. On August 22, 2008, the court signed an order granting summary judgment in favor of the City, based on official immunity and statute of limitations. It is from this order that Martin appeals.

The City has filed a motion to dismiss, explaining that Martin's claims survive against Dawson and other individuals named but apparently not yet served with citation. Having reviewed the clerk's record, we agree. Except in very limited cases, a party may only appeal from a final judgment that disposes of all parties and claims. See De Ayala v. Mackie, 193 S.W.3d 575, 578-79 (Tex. 2006); Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). We therefore grant the City's motion and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).

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David Puryear, Justice

Before Chief Justice Jones, Justices Puryear and Henson

Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction

Filed: February 13, 2009

1. It is not clear whether Barina and Gallaway have been dropped from the suit by Martin.