No pleading, no judgment – summary, or otherwise

The Fifth Court reversed a judgment about an alleged violation of a restrictive covenant by a “tiny house” when:

The Morrisseys’ original petition was their live pleading at the time the trial court granted their motion for summary judgment. Despite the recitations in the trial court’s judgment, the Morrisseys’ original petition failed to allege the Czegledis violated a restrictive covenant concerning square footage. Finally, the Czegledis timely argued that it would be unjust to grant summary judgment based on an unpled allegation; thus, the parties did not try the Morrisseys’ allegation concerning minimum square footage by consent. Therefore, our de novo review reveals the trial court’s summary judgment is void because it is not supported by the Morrisseys’ live pleading.

Czegledi v. Morrissey, No. 05-24-00739-CV (Dec. 15, 2025) (citations omitted).