Background
Appellant Emrulkayes Akter appealed from a judgment entered in the 215th District Court, Harris County, Texas. When the appellee moved to supplement the appellate record, the clerk’s record revealed a critical deficiency: no signed final judgment appeared in the file, despite the trial court apparently having signed one.
The appellate court ordered the trial court to supplement the record and clarify whether a final judgment had been rendered and reduced to a signed writing. After the 30-day abatement period elapsed, the trial court clerk filed a supplemental record stating they were “unable to locate a signed Final Judgment in this case file.” The clerk’s docket sheet contained only an entry dated March 19, 2026, noting that a final judgment signed 12/13/2026 “cannot be processed”—but no actual judgment document.
The court dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Without a signed final judgment filed in the trial court record, the appellate court lacked authority to hear the case. The court cited established law that a docket entry alone is not a final appealable judgment and that jurisdiction requires a signed final judgment to exist in writing.
The court emphasized that appellate jurisdiction depends on the existence and proper filing of a final judgment. The failure of the trial court clerk to file or locate the signed judgment—even if one was drafted—was fatal to appellate review. All pending motions were dismissed as moot.
This decision underscores a critical procedural requirement that trips up appellants and trial courts alike: appellate jurisdiction hinges entirely on the existence of a signed, filed final judgment. Even substantial compliance or evidence that a judgment was intended is insufficient. Trial court clerks and litigants must ensure that final judgments are properly signed and filed in the record, as omission at this foundational stage terminates appellate review entirely.
For practitioners, this opinion serves as a reminder to verify that judgments have been properly entered and filed before filing a notice of appeal, and to address any deficiencies immediately through supplementation or motion practice rather than discovering them mid-appeal.
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