Bandera Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Gilchrist

This case concerns the proper appellate disposition of a summary judgment that purports to be final but grants more relief than the movant requested. The trial court’s judgment contained a Mother Hubbard clause 1 that professed to dispose of the plaintiffs claims and the defendant’s counterclaims, even though the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment did not address the counterclaims. Concluding that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment on the unaddressed counterclaims, a divided court of appeals reversed and remanded the entire ease to the trial court. 924 S.W.2d 388. We hold…