Cudd Pressure Control, Inc. v. Sonat Exploration Co.

Cudd Pressure Control, Inc. has appealed from a judgment rendered against it in a jury trial. The clerk’s record has been filed. Sonat Exploration Company has now filed a motion asking us to dismiss the appeal because it is not from a final judgment. This is a critical question, because if no final judgment exists, this Court has no jurisdiction over the appeal. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. � 51.012 (Vernon 1997) (final judgment of district and county courts); see N. E. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d 893, 895 (Tex. 1966). With only a few exceptions, an appeal is allowed only from final judgments of a district or county court. Hinde v. Hinde, 701 S.W.2d 637, 639 (Tex. 1985). A final judgment is one that disposes of all parties and all issues in a lawsuit. Jack B. Anglin Co., Inc. v. Tipps, 842 S.W.2d 266, 272 (Tex. 1992).

The underlying facts show that seven persons were killed in a gas well blowout while in the process of completing that well. Sonat was the drilling company. The pleadings reflect that Sonat hired Cudd Pressure Control, Inc. to complete the well and that Cudd hired Brooks Well Servicing Company to provide some equipment for the procedure.