Houston Court of Appeals says judgment signed by visiting judge is void because he had not tried the case - Malone v. PLH Group, Inc.

SUA SPONTE DETERMINATION OF APPELLATE JURISDICTION 

Houston court of appeals, in an opinion by Justice Harvey Brown, reiterates that appellate courts have an obligation to consider whether they have jurisdiction even if the issue is not raised by the parties; concludes that trial court judgment is void because one judge (District Judge Caroline Baker)  tried the case while another one (Visiting Judge John T. Woolridge) signed the judgment, which was a take-nothing judgment. Woolridge also signed findings of facts and conclusions of law. Judgment vacated.

Malone v. PLH Group, Inc and Power Line Services, Inc., No. 01-17-00618-CV (Tex.App. - Houston, Nov. 6, 2018) (Judgment void because Judge Baker presided over the bench trial, but Judge Woolridge entered the final judgment even though Judge Baker remained the presiding judge of the district court.).

[N]either the rules nor case law permit one judge to preside over the entire bench trial and a visiting judge, who heard no evidence, to render a judgment based on disputed facts. See Masa Custom Homes, 547 S.W.3d at 335–36; Cooper v. Campbell, No. 05-17-00878-CV, 2018 WL 3454756, at *3 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 18, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.). In a bench trial, the presiding judge observes the witnesses’ demeanor and weighs the evidence. Masa Custom Homes, 547 S.W.3d at 337. Drawing on these observations, the presiding judge, acting as factfinder, determines the facts from the disputed evidence. Another judge exercising a judicial role in the same court is not authorized to render judgment without hearing any of the evidence on which the judgment is based. W.C. Banks, Inc. v. Team, Inc., 783 S.W.2d 783, 785–86 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no writ) trcp is there a rule that addresses typos by a clerk in the record of a judgment?