Opinion
05-23-00051-CV
05-22-2023
CHERIE FAYE WOODWARD, Appellant v. BRIAN DAVID WOODWARD, Appellee
On Appeal from the 468th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 468-50207-2021
ORDER
BILL PEDERSEN, III JUSTICE
This appeal challenges the trial court's final decree of divorce. The appellate record has been filed as has appellant's brief. Appellee's brief is currently due May 30, 2023.
Asserting the clerk's record and volumes six through eight of the reporter's record include documents and exhibits, filed and admitted by appellee, that contain sensitive data in violation of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21c and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.9, appellant has filed an opposed motion to delete/strike/seal that portion of the record in both the trial court and this Court and sanction appellee's counsel for their negligence in filing the prohibited documents and exhibits. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 21c; Tex.R.App.P. 9.9. Appellant also seeks leave to file an amended brief that corrects an omission in the index of authorities, substitutes a sentence in the argument section, and redacts sensitive data in documents included in the appendix.
We have reviewed the clerk's record as well as the complained-of volumes of the reporter's record, and all contain sensitive data as defined by rules 21(c) and 9.9. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 21c(a); Tex.R.App.P. 9.9(a). We note, however, that the prohibition in rule 9.9 against filing documents with sensitive data does not apply to the appellate record. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.9(b). Nonetheless, to the extent appellant seeks to have sealed the documents and exhibits that contain sensitive data, we ORDER the trial court to conduct a hearing, no later than June 22, 2023, to determine whether those documents and exhibits should be filed under seal or if less restrictive means, such as redaction, exist that will adequately and effectively protect the sensitive data. The trial court's findings shall be included in a written order that lists the documents and exhibits containing sensitive data and either orders those documents and exhibits be filed in sealed clerk's and reporter's records or identifies the alternative means for protection. The written order shall be filed in a supplemental clerk's record no later than June 27, 2023. A reporter's record of the hearing as well as any sealed clerk's and reporter's records or clerk's and reporter's records containing redacted documents and exhibits shall also be filed no later than June 27, 2023.
We ORDER the clerk's record and volumes six through eight of the reporter's record TEMPORARILY SEALED pending the trial court's compliance with this order.
With respect to appellant's request for leave to file an amended brief, we GRANT the motion and ORDER the brief be filed no later than June 1, 2023. We RESET the deadline for the filing of appellee's brief to July 5, 2023.
We DENY appellant's motion in all other respects.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Lindsey Wynne, Presiding Judge of the 468th Judicial District Court; Collin County District Clerk Michael Gould; Robin Benton, Official Court Reporter for the 468th Judicial District Court; and, the parties.
We ABATE the appeal to allow the trial court an opportunity to comply with this order. The appeal will be reinstated and the portion of this order temporarily sealing the clerk's record and volumes six through eight of the reporter's record vacated no later than June 30, 2023.