Blair v. Fletcher

This case presents the issue whether a court of appeals can vacate a trial court judgment without rendering a decision on the merits, and remand the case for reconsideration to the trial court because of a change in the applicable law during the pendency of the appeal. We hold that a court of appeals has no such authority and must render an appellate decision on the merits. Therefore, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and remand this cause to the court of appeals for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

This appeal arises out of an automobile accident case brought by…