Opinion
05-23-00231-CV
04-28-2023
CHARLOTTE BUCKNER, Appellant v. WHITE ROCK HILL TOWNHOMES, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. CC-22-06021-B
Before Justices Nowell, Goldstein, and Breedlove
MEMORANDUM OPINION
ERIN A. NOWELL JUSTICE
This is an appeal from the trial court's March 6, 2023 final judgment of possession in a forcible detainer suit. Asserting the appeal has become moot because appellant is no longer in possession of the subject property, appellee has filed a motion to dismiss.
The only issue in a forcible detainer suit is the right to actual possession of the premises. See Marshall v. Housing Auth. of City of San Antonio, 198 S.W.3d 782, 785 (Tex. 2006). Unless the tenant has a "potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession," the issue of possession and the case become moot when the tenant vacates the property. See id. at 787. When a case becomes moot on appeal, an appellate court must set aside or vacate the trial court's judgment and dismiss the case. See id. at 785, 790.
Although appellant has had more than ten days to respond to appellee's motion, she has not done so. Accordingly, with nothing before us showing appellant has a "potentially meritorious claim of right to current, actual possession," we grant appellee's motion, vacate the trial court's March 6th judgment of possession, and dismiss the case. See id. at 790.
JUDGMENT
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, we VACATE the trial court's March 6, 2023 judgment of possession and DISMISS the case.