MEMORANDUM OPINION No. 04-06-00899-CV Vance Owen d/b/a OWEN & ASSOC., and CGT LAW GROUP INTERNATIONAL, L.L.P., Appellants v. Noe DE LOS SANTOS, SR., Individually, et al., Appellees From the 49th Judicial District Court, Zapata County, Texas Trial Court No. 5847 Honorable Manuel R. Flores, Judge Presiding Opinion by: Karen Angelini, Justice Sitting: Karen Angelini, Justice Rebecca Simmons, Justice Steven C. Hilbig, Justice Delivered and Filed: March 19, 2008 DISMISSED FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Appellants, Vance Owen d/b/a Owen and Associates ("Owen"), and CGT Law Group International, L.L.P. ("CGT"), file this appeal seeking to vacate the findings of fact and conclusions of law, unseal the trial court proceedings and judgment, and vacate that part of the sealed judgment, if any, that adjudicates their interests. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Factual and Procedural Background On or about June 23, 2004, a fire occurred at the home of Daniel Mercado ("Mercado") in Zapata County, Texas. Several members of the Silva and De Los Santos families were injured in the fire, while still others lost their lives. The law firm of Gonzalez & Associates represented the plaintiffs and filed suit against various defendants, including Mr. Mercado, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., and Fred's Fine Furniture, Inc. On November 29, 2006, the case settled and a hearing was held. The record reflects that Doug Gwyther, an attorney with CGT, and Bill Owen, an attorney with Owen & Associates, were present at the hearing for the purpose of "auditing the proceedings" since there was a separate case pending in Nueces County "over disputes relating to certain claims and certain attorney fee interests in this case." Both Gwyther and Owen stated that they had not intervened in the suit and were not otherwise parties; moreover, neither Gwyther nor Owen had been served with notice of the hearing which was for the express purpose of entering the settlement agreement. Nevertheless, at Gonzalez's request, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law which purported to adjudicate CGT's and Owen's contractual rights to the contested attorneys' fees. The trial court also barred Gwyther and Owen from attending any further proceedings in the case and sealed the records of a subsequent hearing, along with the final judgment. CGT and Owen appeal, raising the following issues: 1) the trial court abused its discretion in entering findings of fact and conclusions of law as to CGT and Owen who were not parties to the suit; 2) the trial court abused its discretion in sealing the proceedings related to the entry of the final judgment and the final judgment itself; and 3) the trial court erred in entering a judgment against CGT and Owen who were not parties to the suit. We have reviewed the sealed documents which consist of Volume II of the Reporter's Record and the final judgment, along with supporting documents. No mention of either CGT or Owen is found throughout any of these sealed documents. More specifically, neither CGT nor Owen are parties to the …
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