COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE

FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

ORDER

Appellate case name: Michael McKinley v. Victoria Escochea

Appellate case number: 01-14-00044-CV

Trial court case number: 1999-51797

Trial court: 312th District Court of Harris County

Appellant, Michael McKinley, has filed a “Motion to Suppliment [sic] the Clerk’s 

Record on Appeal” and a “Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellate’s [sic] Brief.” 

We deny the motion to supplement and grant in part and deny in part the motion for 

extension.

In his motion to supplement, appellant argues that numerous documents, including 

a “Motion to Modify,” agreed temporary orders, a motion for counseling, a “First 

Amended Motion to Modify Parent Child Relationship,” a temporary restraining order, 

and a “Motion to Sign temporary Orders [sic],” are necessary for a proper presentation of 

this case on appeal but are not included in the clerk’s record. Appellant further contends 

that this matter cannot be properly considered “without the inclusion into the Appellate 

Record of the pleadings filed in this case on file with the clerk starting on October 17, 

2012.” Appellant therefore requests that we “order the Harris County District Clerk to 

prepare copies of the totality of the Clerk’s files in cause number[] 1999-51797 beginning 

at the initiation of the Modification on October 17, 2012 and submit them to the Court of 

Appeals to supplement the Clerk’s Record” previously filed.

In his motion for extension of time, appellant states that his “brief is due on March 

12, 2014” and that “the parties are ordered to mediate by April 7, 2014.”1 Appellant 

further states that he is filing his motion for extension in conjunction with his motion to 

supplement the clerk’s record and “requests an extension of time to duplicate and file the 

 

1 Appellant’s brief was originally due on March 12, 2014. On March 10, 2014, we 

granted a previous motion for extension of time filed by appellant and extended 

the deadline to May 12, 2014.
contents of the additional pleadings with the Court of Appeals for inclusion in the Clerk’s 

Record for appellate review.” Appellant requests a 60-day extension of time in which to 

file his brief “to give the Harris County District Clerk time to supplement the record and 

allow appellate counsel adequate time to brief the legal issues involved in this case.”

If appellant believes that relevant items have been omitted from the clerk’s record, 

appellant may, without necessity of an order from this Court, “by letter direct the trial 

court clerk to prepare, certify, and file in the appellate court a supplement containing the 

omitted item[s].” TEX. R. APP. P. 34.6(c). Once the relevant items have been properly 

designated and the clerk’s fee has been paid, the trial court clerk will be responsible for 

filing a supplemental clerk’s record, and any supplemental clerk’s record filed by the trial 

court clerk will be part of the appellate record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5(a)(13), (b)(1), 

(2), (4), (c)(1), (3), 35.3(a)(2). Nevertheless, appellant’s request, seeking “the totality of 

the Clerk’s files in cause number[] 1999-51797 beginning at the initiation of the 

Modification on October 17, 2012,” fails to “specifically describe the item[s] so that the 

clerk can readily identify” them and amounts to a general designation, and it is therefore 

an improper designation. TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5(b)(2) (requiring designation to specifically 

describe item so clerk can readily identify it and stating that “clerk will disregard a 

general designation”). Accordingly, we deny appellant’s motion to supplement.

Further, appellant fails to identify any omitted item that is a required part of the 

record absent designation by a party. See TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5(a)(1)–(a)(12). Therefore, 

because no party designated these filings for inclusion in the record before the trial court 

clerk filed the record, the clerk’s record was complete when it was filed. See TEX. R.

APP. P. 34.5(a)(13), 35.1(b)(1). And, although an appellant is entitled to request that

additional documents be included in a supplemental clerk’s record, an appellant’s 

untimely request does not render the clerk’s record incomplete. See TEX. R. APP. P. 

34.5(b)(4), (c)(1). Therefore, an untimely designation of documents for inclusion in the 

clerk’s record, submitted to the trial court clerk after the clerk’s record has been filed in 

this Court, does not provide a basis for a motion for extension of time to file an 

appellant’s brief. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b)(1)(C), 38.6(a), (d). Accordingly, 

appellant’s motion for extension of time to file his brief is granted in part and denied in 

part. Appellant’s brief is ordered filed no later than 30 days from the date of this order.

It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: /s/ Sherry Radack

  Acting individually  Acting for the Court

Date: May 20, 2014