Opinion
No. 10-13-00174-CV
04-24-2014
TOM MADDUX, INDIVIDUALLY, AND DBA LOST PRAIRIE CYCLES; AKA THOMAS EARL MADDUX, Appellant v. MICHAEL D. REID, Appellee
From the 87th District Court
Limestone County, Texas
Trial Court No. 29,549-A
ORDER
The Court has reached an impasse in our ability to obtain the reporter's record in this appeal. Appellant contends he has not paid for the reporter's record because he has not received a bill for the record. The reporter has verbally informed the Clerk of this Court that the record has not been prepared because she has not been paid. However, the reporter will not provide written documentation that she has notified appellant of the amount necessary to be paid for the reporter to prepare and deliver the reporter's record.
Accordingly, and because the trial court shares the responsibility to see that the appellate record is timely filed, see TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(c), we abate this proceeding and remand it to the trial court.
The trial court is ordered to hold a hearing, within 21 days from the date of this order, to determine and resolve the issue with regard to the amount of payment required to obtain the record and a date (or number of days after payment) by which the reporter will have the record properly prepared and filed. Further, the trial court is ordered to inform appellant that if the reporter's record is necessary to the appeal and is not timely paid for, the appeal will be dismissed for want of prosecution. Finally, the trial court is ordered to inform the reporter that the consequences of the reporter failing to file the complete and proper record with this Court, as ordered by the trial court pursuant to the above order, is that the reporter may be held in contempt of court for which the reporter may be ordered to pay a fine and may also be ordered to forfeit her fee for the preparation of the reporter's record.
A record of the hearing and any findings made by the trial court are due to be filed in this Court within 35 days from the date of this order.
PER CURIAM Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Scoggins
Appeal abated