Opinion
05-24-00633-CV
10-14-2024
THOMAS E. SWIFT III & LAURYS P. SWIFT, Appellants v. LARRY M. WOLFORD, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE LARRY AND DENISE WOLFORD REVOCABLE TRUST, ET AL., Appellees
On Appeal from the 44th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-21-06038
ORDER
CORY L. CARLYLE JUSTICE
Before the Court is appellants' October 9, 2024 motion to abate the appeal and order the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine why the reporter's record, first due July 16, 2024 and requested on May 23, 2024, has not been filed. In support of their motion, appellants note that the Court has ordered the trial court's official court reporter, Crystal Brown, to file the record twice since the record was first due. Appellants also note that they are prepared to pay for the record and have asked Ms. Brown, by either letter or email, more than ten times for the cost but have received no response.
Although the appeal cannot proceed until the issue of the reporter's record is resolved, we recognize the demands court reporters face, and that, until appellants have paid for the record, the record need not be filed. See Tex. R. App. P. 35.3(b). Because appellants cannot pay for the record without knowing the cost, rather than ordering a hearing, we ORDER Ms. Brown to file no later than October 18, 2024, written verification she has informed appellants of the cost for the record. We further ORDER appellants to file, no later than October 23, 2024, written verification they have paid for the record.
Should the requested verifications be filed, Ms. Brown shall file the record no later than November 5, 2024.
We caution Ms. Brown that failure to comply with any portion of this order may result in the Court taking whatever actions it deems necessary to ensure the record is filed including ordering that she not sit as a reporter until the record is filed and ordering the trial court to conduct a hearing as requested by appellants.
Appellants' motion remains pending.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Veretta L. Frazier, Presiding Judge of the 44th Judicial District Court; Ms. Brown; and the parties. We further DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to call Ms. Brown to inform her of the contents of this order.