Opinion
01-22-00815-CV
11-07-2023
Susan Carr v. Diana Claudio
County Civil Court at Law No. 3 of Harris County Trial court case No: 1186536
ORDER
Julie Countiss, Judge
Appellant, Susan Carr, has filed a notice of appeal. On August 1, 2023, appellant filed her appellant's brief. The brief does not comply with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1. Among other things, appellant's brief:
• Does not "state concisely the nature of the case," "the course of the proceedings, and the trial court's disposition of the case," "supported by record references";
• Does not "include a statement explaining why oral argument should or should not be permitted";
• Does not "state concisely all issues or points presented for review";
• Does not "state concisely and without argument the facts pertinent to the issues or points presented," "supported by record references";
• Does not "contain a succinct, clear, and accurate statement of the arguments made in the body of the brief";
• Does not "contain a clear and concise argument for the contentions made, with appropriate citations to authorities and to the record"; and
• Does not include an appendix with the necessary contents.Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (k). Appellant's brief also does not comply with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.4. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.4.
The appellate briefing requirements are mandatory. M&E Endeavors LLC v. Air Voice Wireless LLC, Nos. 01-18-00852-CV, 01-19-00180-CV, 2020 WL 5047902, at *7 (Tex. App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 17, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.); see also Bolling v. Farmers Branch Indep. Sch. Dist., 315 S.W.3d 893, 896 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2010, no pet.) ("Only when we are provided with proper briefing may we discharge our responsibility to review the appeal and make a decision that disposes of the appeal one way or the other.").
Because appellant's brief does not comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, we strike appellant's brief filed on August 1, 2023 We order appellant to file a corrected brief that complies with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure The deadline for filing the corrected brief is twenty days from the date of this order.
If appellant's corrected brief does not comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Court may strike the corrected brief, prohibit appellant from filing another, proceed as if appellant has failed to file a brief, and dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(1), 38.9(a), 42.3, 43.2(f); see, e.g., Archer v. Finlay, No. 13-21-00359-CV, 2022 WL 1415679, at *1 (Tex. App-Corpus Christi-Edinburg May 5, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing appeal where appellant's brief failed to comply with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.4 and 38.1); Tucker v. Fort Worth W. R.R. Co., No. 02-19-00221-CV, 2020 WL 3969586, at *1 (Tex. App-Fort Worth June 18, 2020, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (where appellant ordered to file amended brief but amended brief still did not comply with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, striking amended brief and dismissing appeal for want of prosecution); Tyurin v. Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C., No. 01-17-00014-CV, 2017 WL 4682191, at *1 (Tex. App-Houston [1st Dist] Oct. 19, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op.); Petty v. Petty, No. 13-14-00051-CV, 2014 WL 5500459, at *1 (Tex. App- Corpus Christi-Edinburg Oct. 30, 2014, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (striking appellant's amended brief and dismissing appeal because of failure to comply with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1). If appellant fails to timely file her corrected brief, the Court may also dismiss her appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a), 42.3, 43.2(f). Further, because appellee, Diana Claudio, has filed an appellee's brief, if appellant files a brief that does not comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure or if appellant fails to file a corrected brief, the Court may affirm the trial court's judgment upon the appellee's brief without examining the record. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.3(a)(3).
It is so ORDERED.