In re Estate of Davidson, 153 S.W.3d 301 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2004, pet. denied).
The trial court denied a bill of review under Probate Code § 31 but
did not sever it from the underlying will contest. The moving party
appealed. The appellate court dismissed the appeal holding that it
lacked jurisdiction because the order denying the bill of review was not
a final and appealable order. The court explained that the ultimate
issue was whether the court’s order admitting the will to probate should
be set aside. In addition to the bill of review pleading, the will
contestants also filed a traditional will contest under Probate Code §
93 which had not yet been decided. Because the issues overlap and the
court had not yet ruled on all issues, the ruling on the bill of review
was not a final and appealable order as required by Crowson v. Wakeham,
897 S.W.2d 779, 783 (Tex. 1995).
Moral: A party unhappy with a court order must make certain it is final
and appealable before filing an appeal. Otherwise, a considerable waste
of time and money will result.