Opinion
No. 04-14-00357-CV
07-03-2014
IN RE: A PURPORTED LIEN OR CLAIM AGAINST HELVETIA ASSET RECOVERY, INC.
From the 224th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2013-CI-18394
Honorable Martha B. Tanner, Judge Presiding
ORDER
On June 30, 2014, this court received appellant's brief. The brief violates Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38 in that it does not include record citations in the statement of facts and in the remaining portions of the brief, there are but few citations to the record. Instead, appellant has included hyperlinks to documents included in the appendix to his brief. Although these documents may be part of the record, the rules require appellant to include citations to the clerk's record and any reporter's record. Moreover, the few citations included in the record are confusing, and there is no legend to explain the method of citation used by appellant.
Appellant must include references to the appellate record in his statement of facts and in the remaining portions of his brief; hyperlinks are insufficient. Although substantial compliance with Rule 38 is sufficient, this court may order a party to amend, supplement, or redraw a brief if it flagrantly violates Rule 38. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.9(a). We conclude that the formal defects described above constitute flagrant violations of Rule 38.
We, therefore, ORDER appellant to file an amended brief in this court on or before July 14, 2014. If the amended brief does not correct the violations, we may strike the brief and prohibit appellant from filing another. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.9(a); see also id. 42.3(c) (allowing dismissal of appellant's case if appellant fails to comply with requirement of Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure or order of court). We may also accept the brief and consider appellant's issue or issues waived due to inadequate briefing.
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Marialyn Barnard, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 3rd day of July, 2014.
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Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court