Opinion
05-23-00819-CV
02-22-2024
MISTY HEATH, Appellant v. TIDES ON PARK LANE OWNER LLC, Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 4 Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. CC-23-04331-D.
ORDER
BONNIE LEE GOLDSTEIN JUSTICE
This is an appeal from a judgment of possession in a forcible detainer case. Before the Court is appellant's February 20, 2024 second motion for an extension of time to file her corrected brief. Appellant explains the extension is necessary because she has been unsuccessful in retaining counsel.
We note appellant filed the notice of appeal on August 21, 2023. The clerk's record and reporter's record in this appeal were filed September 20, 2023 and November 10, 2023, respectively. We further note appellant's original brief was due December 11, 2023 and was filed January 4, 2024. On January 25, 2024, we informed appellant her brief was deficient and ordered her to file a corrected brief no later than February 5, 2024. On appellant's motion, based upon the stated desire to retain counsel, we subsequently extended the deadline to the current deadline of March 6, 2024. As of March 6, appellant will have had a total of 117 days to file her brief. Under the rules of appellate procedure, the period is generally thirty days. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6.
We are empathetic to appellant's circumstances but must balance that with the need for prompt and efficient administration of justice. Accordingly, we GRANT the motion TO THE EXTENT THAT we ORDER the brief filed no later than April 5, 2024. Failure to file the corrected brief by April 5, 2024 may result in the appeal being submitted on the deficient brief or dismissed without further notice. See id. 38.9, 42.3(b),(c).