Opinion
No. 02-20-00181-CV
01-14-2021
ANUOLUWAPO O. POPOOLA, Appellant v. WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Appellee
On Appeal from the 141st District Court Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 141-310361-19 Before Kerr, Birdwell, and Bassel, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On September 9, 2020, Anuoluwapo O. Popoola, proceeding pro se, filed an appellant's brief. That same day, we notified her that her brief did not conform with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1(a)-(d), (f)-(k) and with Second Court of Appeals Local Rule 1.A. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(a)-(d), (f)-(k); 2nd Tex. App. (Fort Worth) Loc. R. 1.A. We warned Popoola that if she did not file a rule-compliant amended brief by September 21, 2020, we could strike her brief and dismiss her appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a), 38.9(a), 42.3.
Instead of amending her brief, Popoola moved for an extension of time to do so. But Popoola did not pay the $10 motion-filing fee, and her motion lacked a certificate of service and a certificate of conference. See Tex. R. App. P. 5, 9.5, 10.1(a)(5); Supreme Court of Tex., Fees Charged in the Supreme Court, in Civil Cases in the Courts of Appeals, and Before the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, Misc. Docket No. 15-9158 (Aug. 28, 2015) (listing courts of appeals' fees). We thus asked her to pay the filing fee and to file the missing certificates by October 5, 2020. We warned Popoola that if she failed to do so, her motion could be returned to her unfiled. We received no response.
Because Popoola failed to pay the filing fee and file the certificates, we returned her motion to her unfiled on October 13, 2020. That same day, we notified Popoola for a second time that her brief did not conform with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and with the Second Court of Appeals Local Rules. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(a)-(d), (f)-(k); 2nd Tex. App. (Fort Worth) Loc. R. 1.A. In addition to the rules listed in our first notice, we notified Popoola that her brief did not comply with Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.1(b) and 9.4(i). See Tex. R. App. P. 9.1(b), 9.4(i). We once again warned Popoola that we could strike her brief and dismiss her appeal if she did not file a rule-compliant amended brief. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a), 38.9(a), 42.3. We gave Popoola until October 23, 2020, to do so, but we have received no response.
Because Popoola has failed to file a rule-compliant amended brief after we afforded her two opportunities to do so, we strike her brief and dismiss this appeal for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(1), 38.9(a), 42.3(b), 43.2(f).
/s/ Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr
Justice Delivered: January 14, 2021