El Paso Court of Appeals holds since city appealed denial of a plea to the jurisdiction, but not the final judgment entered at the same time, court could not hear the appeal
The City of Brady and Brady Police Department v. William Dale Scott, 08-20-00155-CV (Tex. App. – El Paso, Aug. 16, 2021).
The El Paso Court of Appeals determined it did not have jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal from a Chapter 47 suit to determine ownership of property.
This case started when City police seized $11,450.00 from Scott when searching his home. Scott was investigated for a type of fraud after complaints came that he was operating some form of scam. Several years later, Scott filed suit specifically under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 47.01 et seq, which allows for a specific hearing to determine person with the superior right to possession of property. His Chapter 47 petition complained that although the police opened a case file in the matter and provided him with a receipt stating that it had taken $11,452 in cash from him, the police never returned the cash to him. Criminal charges were never filed. The City filed a plea to the jurisdiction. The trial court denied the plea in the same order it issued a final judgment granting Scott’s relief. The City filed an interlocutory appeal.
The City asserts the funds were not seized as part of a criminal investigation, but to determine their ownership. The City asserted it no longer has the funds as they were disposed of under article 18.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing for disposing of funds when the owner is unknown. Under that article, the police placed an advertisement in the local Brady newspaper stating that it had cash in excess of $500 in its possession, and that anyone claiming the money had 90 days to contact them. After no one responded the department obtained an order awarding the funds to the City of Brady from a Brady Municipal Court judge. The City alleged that Scott only had 30 days to appeal or otherwise contest the municipal court’s disposition order, and that doing so was a “statutory prerequisite” to filing a Chapter 47 petition. The City also asserted that the notice setting hearing only set the plea, and not a final determination on the Chapter 47 suit. The trial court ruled on both matters in the same order. The City filed an interlocutory appeal, appealing only the denial of the plea. The El Paso court held when a trial court has already entered a final judgment, an appellate court has no jurisdiction to hear a governmental body’s interlocutory appeal from an order denying its plea to the jurisdiction, and the governmental body must instead pursue an appeal from the final judgment. Since the City’s appeal did not timely appeal the final judgment or file an appeal bond for a Chapter 47 appeal, the court has no jurisdiction to hear the City’s arguments. The case is therefore dismissed.
If you would like to read this opinion click here. Panel consists of Chief Justice Rodriguez, Justice Palafox and Justice Alley. Opinion by Justic Alley.
