Opinion
No. 05-16-00128-CV
05-10-2016
JOSEPH GEETING, ET AL., Appellants v. CRAIG DYER, ET AL., Appellees
On Appeal from the 298th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-04-01100
ORDER
We REINSTATE this appeal.
By order dated March 16, 2016, the Court ordered the trial court to conduct a hearing and make written findings regarding the status of the reporter's record. The Court has received a supplemental clerk's record containing the trial court's written findings. The trial court made the following pertinent findings:
1. The case was tried to a jury over twelve days.
2. Court reporters Marcy Poeckes and Shelley Etheridge recorded the trial proceedings.
3. Following trial, the case was automatically stayed for over three years due to a bankruptcy filing.
4. Ms. Etheridge's computer was stolen sometime during 2012 or 2013.
5. During the summer of 2015, Ms. Etheridge destroyed her notes of the trial proceedings.
6. The case was reinstated on November 13, 2015 and the final judgment was signed on that date.
7. Appellants timely filed a request for the complete reporter's record.
8. The testimony of three witnesses and perhaps part of the testimony of a fourth witness has been destroyed.
9. Neither court reporter possesses any notes from which the record of the missing trial proceedings from July 6, 7, and 8 could be reconstructed or otherwise recovered.
10. The record of the missing portion of the trial proceedings cannot be replaced by agreement of the parties.
11. The record of the missing portion of the trial proceedings cannot be replaced with a copy the trial court finds is reasonably similar to the original.
12. A substantial portion of the record is missing without any fault of appellants.
We ADOPT the trial court's findings.
The record is past due. We ORDER Felicia Pitre, Dallas County District Clerk, to file the clerk's record by MAY 31, 2016.
We GRANT the April 25, 2016 motion of Marcey Poeckes, Official Court Reporter for the 298th Judicial District Court, for an extension of time to file the reporter's record and extend the time to JUNE 9, 2016. Ms. Poeckes shall file all available portions of the reporter's record that appellant has requested.
The parties shall address in their briefs on the merits the effect of the missing portions of the reporter's record on this appeal.
We DIRECT the Clerk of this Court to send a copy of this order to Ms. Pitre, Ms. Poeckes, and all parties.
/s/ ELIZABETH LANG-MIERS
JUSTICE