FINALITY FOR PURPOSES OF APPEAL

The Supreme Court of Texas delivered its opinion in Farm Bureau County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Rogers, 455 S.W.3d 161 (Tex. 2015), on the issue of whether a trial court’s order was final for purposes of appeal.  The court noted that the subject order did not dispose of all parties and claims because it did not expressly resolve the parties’ claims for attorney’s fees.  Neither the language taxing costs nor the Mother Hubbard clause was sufficient to indicate a clear intent to dispose of the attorney’s fees claims.  The court concluded that because Mother Hubbard clauses do not, on their face, implicitly dispose of claims not expressly mentioned in the order, and Farm Bureau failed to request an award of attorney’s fees in its summary judgment motion, there was nothing in the record to indicate that the trial court had even considered the issue of attorney’s fees.