Opinion
01-24-00439-CV
10-08-2024
Jim Thompson v. Ridge Point Apartments, et al.
Trial court: County Civil Court at Law No. 1 of Harris County, Trial court case number: 1226850
ORDER
Richard Hightower, Judge.
Appellant, Jim Thompson, tendered a pro se brief on June 28, 2024. The brief was not filed because it was not yet due. Appellant's brief is due within 30 days after the complete appellate record is filed. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(a). The clerk's record was filed on July 15, 2024. The court reporter advised that no reporter's record was taken. Therefore, appellant's brief was due on August 14, 2024. However, appellant's brief fails to comply with Rule 38.1. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1.
Appellant's brief fails to comply with Rule 38.1 in the following ways:
(1) The statement of facts must include citations to the record. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1((g). Appellant's brief contains no citations to the record in the statement of facts.
(2) Appellant's brief lists three issues, but the brief does not contain argument for all issues asserted. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(i) (brief must contain argument for all contentions made and must include appropriate citations to the record and to authority).
(3) Appellant's brief does not contain a prayer for relief specifying the nature of relief sought. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1(j).
Accordingly, appellant's brief tendered on June 28, 2024 is stricken. Appellant is ordered to file a corrected brief in compliance with Rule 38.1 within 30 days of the date of this order.
Appellant has filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent eviction of appellant from his apartment. No stay or other order staying a judgment in an eviction suit may be issued "under any circumstances" unless the appellant files a supersedeas bond in an amount set by the county court. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 24.007. Appellant does not state that he has filed a bond, and the clerk's record does not indicate the filing of a bond. The emergency motion for a temporary restraining order is denied.
Appellant has also filed a motion for judicial notice, asking that we take notice of a federal action in which class certification has been requested. "An appellate court is limited to the record that is before it on appeal and generally may take judicial notice only of (1) facts that could have been properly judicially noticed by the trial judge or (2) facts that are necessary to determine whether the appellate court has jurisdiction of the appeal." Tafel v. State, 536 S.W.3d 517, 523 (Tex. 2017). The existence of a federal lawsuit is not a fact necessary for this Court to determine if it has jurisdiction over the appeal. Moreover, the trial court did not take judicial notice of this federal lawsuit and any evidence presented in that lawsuit "cannot be considered in support of the trial court's [eviction] order." Id. Accordingly, the motion for judicial notice is denied.
It is so ORDERED.