Opinion
01-22-00653-CV
06-13-2024
Cloteal Arlette Bryan v. Dr. Beverly Guillory Lewis
Trial court: Probate Court No 2 of Harris County, Trial court case number: 465451
ORDER
Veronica Rivas-Molloy, Judge.
Appellant Cloteal Arlette Bryan, proceeding pro se, filed a Notice of Appeal from the trial court's September 2, 2022 Final Judgment disqualifying her from serving as the personal representative of the Estate of May Joyce Bryan-Friday.
Appellant's brief was originally due on February 6, 2023. Appellant did not file a brief by the stated deadline. On February 14, 2023, the Clerk of this Court notified Appellant that her appellate brief was past due, and her appeal was subject to dismissal. On May 25, 2023, Appellant filed a Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Brief, which she subsequently amended. We denied the amended motion without prejudice, noting that her certificate of service did not comply with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.5(e) because it was not signed and did not indicate that service was provided to the Dependent Administrator Jacqueline Guillory Bryan, via her counsel, Tracy Petite. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.5(e). On March 11, 2024, the Clerk of this Court sent another notice, notifying Appellant that her appellate brief was past due, and her appeal was subject to dismissal.
On January 10, 2023, the Court struck Appellant's letter, construed as a brief, filed on December 30, 2022, because it was filed prematurely.
Appellant did not file her appellate brief. Instead, on June 7, 2024, Appellant filed a Second Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellant's Brief, this time, requesting until September 20, 2024 to file her brief. The certificate of service in Appellant's motion indicates that she again failed to send a copy of her motion to Tracy Petite, counsel for Dependent Administrator Jacqueline Guillory Bryan.
Appellant's second motion to extend the time to file her brief is denied in part and granted in part. Appellant is granted one last extension of 30 days to file her appellate brief, making her brief due on Monday, July 15, 2024. Appellant's brief must comply with the requirements enumerated in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.5(e) and 38.1. See In re N.E.B., 251 S.W.3d 211, 211-12 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2008, no pet.) (holding that while pro se pleadings and briefs are "construe[d] liberally," pro se litigants are held "to the same standards as licensed attorneys and require[d] . . . to comply with applicable laws and rules of procedure."). No further extensions will be granted.
This appeal may be dismissed for want of prosecution, without further notice, if Appellant does not file her brief by July 15, 2024. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(d), 38.8(a)(1).
It is so ORDERED.