Opinion
Appellate case number: 01-19-00457-CV
08-13-2019
Kawther Kateeb v. Sugarland/Fort Bend Real Estate, Inc. d/b/a Re/Max Southwest Inc.; HPW Investments, Inc.; Aida Younis Samad; Iqbal Ike Samad
ORDER Trial court case number: 17-DCV-243453 Trial court: 268th District Court of Fort Bend County
Appellant, Kawther Kateeb, filed a pro se notice of appeal on June 19, 2019, in the trial court from the May 20, 2019 final judgment in this contract case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. The Clerk of this Court's July 16, 2019 notice forwarded appellant's July 10, 2019 pro se Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond ("Statement") in this Court to the district clerk and requested an indigent clerk's record. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 145. On August 9, 2019, the district clerk filed an indigent clerk's record containing appellant's Statement, the district clerk's contest, filed on July 17, 2019, but no signed trial court's order with findings required by Rule 145(f)(6).
Rule of Appellate Procedure 20.1 provides that a party who files such a Statement in the trial court "is not required to pay costs in the appellate court unless the trial court overruled the party's claim of indigence in an order that complies with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145." TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(b)(1). Because appellant's indigence claim was not overruled by the trial court, appellant is not required to pay appellate costs. See id.
Accordingly, the Clerk of this Court is directed to mark appellant indigent in this Court's records and allowed to proceed without advance payment of the appellate filing, clerk's, and reporter's record fees. The Court ORDERS the court reporter to file the reporter's record within 30 days of this Order, at no cost to appellant. Finally, the Court ORDERS the district clerk to file the original clerk's record with the Clerk of this Court and mail it with the reporter's record to appellant, at no cost to appellant, within 35 days of the date of this order, and shall certify the delivery date within 45 days of this order.
It is so ORDERED. Judge's signature: /s/ Laura C. Higley
[×] Acting individually [ ] Acting for the Court Date: August 13, 2019