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Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr. v. Automotive Financial Group, Inc. - Appeal Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction

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Filed March 19th, 2026
Detected March 23rd, 2026
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Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District, dismissed an appeal filed by Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr. against Automotive Financial Group, Inc. and others. The court found the notice of appeal to be premature, as no final judgment or appealable interlocutory order had been issued by the trial court. This marks the second such dismissal for Fitzpatrick in this matter.

What changed

The Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District, has dismissed an appeal filed by Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr. against Automotive Financial Group, Inc., AFG Companies, Inc., Travis Gates, Genuine Lifetime, LLC, and Tyler Luck. The court determined that the appeal was filed prematurely, citing a lack of a final judgment or an appealable interlocutory order from the trial court. This is the second time Fitzpatrick's appeal related to the trial court's alleged "ongoing failure to adjudicate his Motion to Intervene" has been dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

This ruling underscores the importance of adhering to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1(a) and 27.1(a), which govern when an appeal can be properly filed. For legal professionals and pro se litigants, this serves as a reminder that appeals can only be taken from final judgments or specific interlocutory orders. Failure to meet these jurisdictional prerequisites will result in dismissal, as demonstrated in this case. No specific compliance deadline or penalty is mentioned, as this is a procedural dismissal of an appeal.

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March 19, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr. v. Automotive Financial Group, Inc., AFG Companies, Inc., Travis Gates, Genuine Lifetime, LLC, and Tyler Luck

Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth)

Disposition

Dismissed-Want of Jurisdiction

Lead Opinion

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth


No. 02-25-00544-CV


MAURICE FITZPATRICK JR., Appellant

V.

AUTOMOTIVE FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., AFG COMPANIES, INC.,
TRAVIS GATES, GENUINE LIFETIME, LLC, AND TYLER LUCK, Appellees

On Appeal from the 48th District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 048-352249-24

Before Birdwell, Bassel, and Womack, JJ.
Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion
MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Maurice Fitzpatrick Jr., proceeding pro se, attempts to appeal the

trial court’s “ongoing failure to adjudicate his Motion to Intervene, filed on

November 12, 2024[,] . . . and other related procedural violations and actions.” This is

Fitzpatrick’s second attempt to appeal the trial court’s “failure to rule on his

[m]otion.” See Fitzpatrick v. AFG Cos., Inc., No. 02-25-00006-CV, 2025 WL 647339, at

*1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 27, 2025, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing appeal for

want of jurisdiction because trial court had not signed any appealable orders or final

judgments). As in the first appeal, Fitzpatrick’s notice of appeal is premature. See Tex.

R. App. P. 26.1(a), 27.1(a).

We have jurisdiction to consider appeals only from final judgments and from

certain interlocutory orders made immediately appealable by statute. See Lehmann v.

Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code

Ann. § 51.014 (a) (listing appealable interlocutory orders). Without a final judgment or

an appealable interlocutory order, we lack jurisdiction over the appeal, and we must

dismiss it. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195, 200.

Here, there is no final judgment or appealable interlocutory order. On October

24, 2025, we notified Fitzpatrick of our concern that we lack jurisdiction over this

appeal because it did not appear that the trial court had entered a final judgment or an

appealable interlocutory order. We warned Fitzpatrick that we could dismiss this

appeal for want of jurisdiction unless he or any party desiring to continue the appeal

2
filed a response by November 3, 2025, showing grounds for continuing it. See Tex. R.

App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. Fitzpatrick did not file a response or furnish this court with an

appealable order or final judgment, and the trial court clerk has confirmed that the

trial court has not signed any orders or final judgments in this case.

Because there is no final judgment or order subject to appeal, we lack

jurisdiction over this appeal. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195, 200. Accordingly, we

dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. 1 See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).

Per Curiam

Delivered: March 19, 2026

On January 23, 2026, Appellees Automotive Financial Group, Inc. and AFG
1

Companies, Inc. moved to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Given our
disposition, the motion is granted. On February 5, 2026, Fitzpatrick filed “Appellant’s
Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief and Stay of Trial-Court Proceedings
Pending Appeal.” That motion is denied as moot.

3

Source

Analysis generated by AI. Source diff and links are from the original.

Classification

Agency
TX Courts
Filed
March 19th, 2026
Instrument
Enforcement
Legal weight
Binding
Stage
Final
Change scope
Minor
Document ID
No. 02-25-00544-CV
Docket
02-25-00544-CV

Who this affects

Applies to
Legal professionals
Activity scope
Appellate Procedure
Geographic scope
Texas US-TX

Taxonomy

Primary area
Judicial Administration
Operational domain
Legal
Topics
Appellate Procedure Civil Procedure

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