Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, 2017

Klein Independent School District v. Thomas Rice, Jr. and Betsy Rice, Individually and as Next Friend of Patrick R., a Minor

Klein Independent School District v. Thomas Rice, Jr. and Betsy Rice, Individually and as Next Friend of Patrick R., a Minor
Court of Civil Appeals of Texas · Decided November 9, 2017

Klein Independent School District v. Thomas Rice, Jr. and Betsy Rice, Individually and as Next Friend of Patrick R., a Minor

Opinion

Opinion issued November 9, 2017

In The Court of Appeals For The First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-17-00786-CV ——————————— KLEIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, Appellant V. THOMAS RICE, JR. AND BETSY RICE, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT FRIEND OF PATRICK R., A MINOR, Appellees

On Appeal from the 11th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2017-67145

MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellant, Klein Independent School District (“KISD”), appealed from the trial court’s interlocutory order, signed on October 11, 2017, granting a temporary restraining order against KISD. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). On October 30, 2017, appellant filed an unopposed motion to dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction, contending that this appeal was rendered moot after the appellees filed a notice of nonsuit in the trial court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.1(a)(5), 10.3(a)(2), 42.1(a)(1).

KISD attached the appellees’ notice of nonsuit, which was filed on October 30, 2017, noting that the parties had settled the matter and there were no affirmative claims for relief by KISD. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 162.

“A nonsuit ‘renders the merits of the nonsuited case moot.’” RSL–3B–IL, Ltd. v. The Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., No. 01-13-00933-CV, 2014 WL 3107663, at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 8, 2014, pet. dism’d) (quoting Travelers Ins. v. Joachim, 315 S.W.3d 860, 862 (Tex. 2010)). “Appellate courts are prohibited from deciding moot controversies.” Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Jones, 1 S.W.3d 83, 86 (Tex. 1999). Thus, we must dismiss this case because we lack jurisdiction over this appeal after the nonsuit was filed. See RSL–3B–IL, Ltd., 2014 WL 3107663, at *3.

Accordingly, we grant KISD’s motion and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction as moot. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). We dismiss any other pending motions as moot.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Brown, and Lloyd.

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