Opinion
No. 10-14-00237-CV
03-03-2015
MARY ALICE EMANUEL, ERVIN MITCHEL EMANUEL, SHIRLEY ANN RIVERS, JAMES EDWARD EMANUEL, ROY LEONARD EMANUEL, CLAUDIA FAY HASHEMI AND EVELYN M. DUPLESSIS, Appellants v. DARRELL EARL EMANUEL AND CEDRIC ROYDELL EMANUEL, Appellees
From the 87th District Court Leon County, Texas
Trial Court No. 0-10-465
ORDER
On August 13, 2014, appellants, Mary Alice Emanuel, Ervin Mitchel Emanuel, Shirley Ann Rivers, James Edwards Emanuel, Roy Leonard Emanuel, Claudia Fay Hashemi, and Evelyn M. Duplessis, filed their notice of appeal challenging the trial court's May 16, 2014 judgment in favor of appellees, Darrel Earl Emanuel and Cedric Roydell Emanuel. Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 35.1, the reporter's record in this matter was due by September 15, 2014. See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.1. Because the court reporter, Helen C. Wooten, had not timely filed several other records, this Court sent the trial court a notice on October 6, 2014, documenting all of Wooten's late records and the number of times this Court had contacted Wooten about the record in each case. In addition, we requested that the records be "filed as soon as practicable." This case was included in the list of cases referenced in our October 6, 2014 letter.
On December 18, 2014, we received a response from the trial judge, the Honorable Deborah Oakes Evans, who informed this Court that she had ordered the following with respect to the late records referenced in our October 6, 2014 letter:
1. Ordered Mrs. Helen Wooten to have the record prepared and filed in the proper format by January 20, 2015. If the record is unable to be retrieved from the computer, Mrs. Wooten will be required to redo the record and she is so ordered.(Emphasis in original).
2. Relieved her [Wooten] of any courtroom responsibilities including travel to the four counties which make up my district until . . . any other records are filed in the proper format and received.
3. I will require her [Wooten] to attend continuing education on electronic filing to ensure this problem will not reoccur.
Because Wooten did not file the reporter's record in this case by January 20, 2015, as ordered by Judge Evans, on February 11, 2015, we once again informed the trial court and Wooten that the record in this matter was late. In our February 11, 2015 letter, we requested the following:
"After consultation with your reporter, but within 14 days from the date of this letter, please determine and notify the Court of a date certain by when the reporter's record will be filed. If no timely notice is received, this Court will enter an order necessary to ensure the filing of the appellate record."See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(c).
On February 25, 2015, Wooten personally responded to our February 11, 2015 letter and noted that she would file this record in this case "by Friday, February 27, 2015. All that is lacking is the Master Index . . . . All other volumes are complete and ready to submit." To date, we have not received the record in this matter, though it is now 170 days, or approximately six months, overdue.
At this time, we ORDER Helen C. Wooten to file the record in this case by 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 6, 2015. As part of this order, Wooten must make arrangements to ensure that this Court has received the record in this matter by the aforementioned deadline.
PER CURIAM Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Scoggins
Order issued and filed March 3, 2015
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