Opinion
No. 05-14-01358-CV
01-05-2016
JUAN CRUZ, Appellant v. DEUTCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 3 Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. CC-14-04351-C
ORDER
Appellant's brief was originally due on May 7, 2015. After granting appellant three extensions, he filed a brief on August 7, 2015. On August 14, 2015, we informed appellant that his brief was deficient and instructed him to file an amended brief correcting the deficiencies within ten days. Instead of filing an amended brief, appellant filed a motion for an extension of time on August 24, 2015. In this motion, appellant stated that he had contacted one attorney but was also looking into "a more cost effective option but hopes that the extension will help him financially afford [the attorney's] fees." We granted appellant an extension of time to file an amended brief to October 9, 2015.
On October 9, 2015, appellant filed another extension motion instead of an amended brief. In his motion, appellant explained that he "finally was accepted by the Legal Aid Office in Dallas County to receive legal aid." He states:
They are in the middle of assigning an attorney to his case and to help him amend the brief. We met with them on 10/1/15 with paralegal, Carmen Perales, so that they could receive the paperwork on this case. However, they have not had enough time to complete the brief but will assign him an attorney to his case upon an extension.
On November 23, 2015, appellant filed another extension motion instead of an amended brief. In his motion, appellant explained as follows:
They still have not assigned an attorney to him yet but [appellant] checks in every 3 days and was told today 11/23/15 that it will take 1-2 weeks for this process since it is the holiday time frame. . . . [The paralegal] continues to keep us posted as the lawyer who [was] supposed to be assigned a few weeks ago was no longer available. They are reassigning his case to someone else. However, they have not had enough time to complete the brief but will assign him an attorney to his case upon an extension."
On December 30, 2015, appellant filed another extension motion instead of an amended brief. In his motion, appellant states that, on December 15, 2015, Legal Aid told him that it will take one to three weeks to assign him an attorney due to the holiday season. Appellant requests a thirty-day extension. We GRANT appellant's motion. Appellant shall file a brief by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2016. We CAUTION appellant that, if he fails to file an amended brief by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2016, the appeal will be submitted on the deficient brief filed on August 7, 2015.
/s/ ELIZABETH LANG-MIERS
JUSTICE