Opinion
No. 05-19-01557-CV
07-30-2020
CRAIG PATRICK POWER, Appellant v. BRADEN RICHARD POWER, Appellee
On Appeal from the 134th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-15-14415
ORDER
This appeal has been at a standstill since March 18, 2020, awaiting the filing of the reporter's record of two trial court proceedings taken by court reporter LaToya R. Young. On April 14, 2020, Ms. Young filed the record of the first proceeding and on May 5, 2020, following an order from the Court, she informed the Court she would be filing the record of the second proceeding by May 8, 2020. The record of that proceeding, held February 28, 2019, had apparently been prepared in June 2019 but "the file was corrupt."
When Ms. Young had not filed the record of the February 2019 proceeding by May 19, 2020, we ordered Ms. Young to file the record by May 29, 2020 and further ordered she not sit as a reporter until she complied. She has been under the "no sit" order since then.
We note other appeals in this Court are also at a standstill because Ms. Young has failed to file the records in those appeals and, we further note Ms. Young is currently under an order that she not sit as reporter in at least one other appeal until the complete record in that appeal is filed.
Given these facts and because the appeal cannot proceed with an incomplete record, we ORDER the trial court to conduct a hearing no later than August 13, 2020 to determine why the record of the February 2019 proceeding has not been filed, the date it will be filed, and what steps need to be taken to ensure it is filed by that date. To that end, both Ms. Young and Tina Thompson, Official Court Reporter for the 134th Judicial District Court, shall be present at the hearing.
The trial court shall make written findings concerning the reasons for the delay and the solution to getting the record filed with this Court. The findings shall be filed in a supplemental clerk's record no later than August 17, 2020. A supplemental reporter's record of the hearing shall also be filed no later than August 17, 2020.
The portion of our May 19th order directing Ms. Young not sit until she files the record of the February 2019 proceeding REMAINS IN EFFECT.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Dale Tillery, Presiding Judge of the 134th Judicial District Court; Dallas County District Clerk Felicia Pitre; Ms. Thompson; Ms. Young; the Dallas County Auditor; and, the parties.
We ABATE the appeal to allow the trial court an opportunity to conduct the hearing. The appeal will be reinstated no later than August 20, 2020.
/s/ BILL WHITEHILL
JUSTICE