[DOWNLOAD] "Houston Health Clubs v. First Court Appeals" by Supreme Court of Texas No. C-5290 * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Houston Health Clubs v. First Court Appeals
- Author : Supreme Court of Texas No. C-5290
- Release Date : January 03, 1986
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 68 KB
Description
The issue in this original mandamus proceeding is whether a trial court's order granting a new trial is voidable because it was signed after that court lost plenary jurisdiction over its default judgment. Whether the trial court retained jurisdiction to grant the new trial depends on whether the default judgment is interlocutory or final. In a previous mandamus proceeding, the court of appeals concluded that the default judgment was final and that the trial court's order granting new trial was voidable. In an unpublished opinion, the court of appeals directed the trial court to vacate its order of new trial. Minns v. Salazar, No. 01-86-0146-CV (Tex. App. -- Houston [1st Dist.] 1986, orig. proceeding). We hold that the trial court's order of new trial is not voidable because the default judgment is interlocutory. The court of appeals therefore abused its discretion in ordering the trial court to vacate its order, and we conditionally grant the writ of mandamus. The lawsuit underlying the present mandamus is a landlord-tenant dispute. The landlord filed suit seeking possession of the leased premises, damages for waste, punitive damages and attorney's fees. The tenant, who is our present relator, failed to answer, and a default judgment was rendered for the landlord. The default judgment granted the landlord all the relief sought except for punitive damages which the judgment did not mention either expressly or by implication.