In the

Court of Appeals

Second Appellate District of Texas

at Fort Worth

___________________________

No. 02-22-00201-CV

___________________________

Original Proceeding

236th District Court of Tarrant County, Texas

Trial Court No. 236-326225-21

Before Kerr, Womack, and Wallach, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack

IN RE AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
2

MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION

This original proceeding arises from litigation filed by American Airlines, Inc.

against Sabre Holdings Corporation, Sabre GLBL Inc., and Sabre Travel International 

Limited (collectively, Sabre). American filed its petition for writ of mandamus under 

seal1seeking to have this court order the trial court to vacate (1) its Order Denying 

American Airlines, Inc.’s Motion to Compel Production of Privileged Trade Secrets of 

Sabre and Non-Parties and (2) its “verbal[] instruct[ion]”

2

to the parties “not to 

electronically file materials under seal in this case with the [D]istrict [C]lerk through 

the eFileTexas.gov system” and to instead “email filings to the court coordinator 

directly” (the Email Order). Because the trial court has not complied with the 

mandatory language of Rule 74 as to the documents that it required to be emailed to 

the court coordinator, we grant relief regarding the Email Order. Tex. R. Civ. P. 74. 

But we deny the other relief sought in American’s petition for writ of mandamus. See

Tex. R. App. P. 52.8(a), (d).

1American has filed a separate appeal in cause number 02-22-00159-CV

challenging a different trial-court order sealing the entire case file.

2We may grant mandamus relief from an oral order that is clear, specific, 

enforceable, and adequately shown by the record. In re Bledsoe, 41 S.W.3d 807, 811

(Tex. App.––Fort Worth 2001, orig. proceeding). Sabre has not argued that the trial 

court’s verbal directive fails to meet these requirements. 
3

II. BACKGROUND

Sabre acts as an intermediary between airlines and travel agents via its Global 

Distribution System (GDS). Sabre Travel Int’l, Ltd. v. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, 

567 S.W.3d 725, 728 (Tex. 2019). Through the GDS, Sabre “connects airlines with 

consumers by aggregating travel offerings of multiple airlines for comparison 

shopping by travel agents.” Id. Airlines, including American, contract with Sabre for 

inclusion of their flight data in the GDS. See id. 

In June 2021, American sued Sabre over contract-related issues. American 

sought to expedite the suit. 

After American requested discovery from nonparty Delta Air Lines, Inc., 

American and Sabre negotiated an agreed protective order, which applies to 

documents furnished by parties and nonparties, defines two categories of confidential 

documents, and restricts who may view the documents in each category. Sabre and 

Delta3 provided some documents to American with provisions redacted. But Sabre 

and Delta resisted discovery of the redacted information claiming that it was 

privileged trade-secret information of Delta. Sabre also withheld other documents 

and information on the basis of trade-secret privilege.

4

 

3Delta produced a redacted version of its contract with Sabre in accordance 

with a Rule 11 agreement with American. 

4Not only does Sabre claim a trade-secret privilege, but also Delta and several 

other nonparties have resisted document production based on the trade-secret 

privilege. 
4

American filed a motion to compel production of the withheld documents, and

the trial court held a hearing on the motion that lasted three days: April 28, 2022, 

April 29, 2022, and May 2, 2022. The trial court denied the motion to compel in an 

order dated May 5, 2022 (Motion to Compel Order). Although the Motion to 

Compel Order did not specifically mention the in camera documents as documents 

that the trial court had considered in its ruling, the Motion to Compel Order did state 

that the trial judge had considered “all relevant papers submitted to or filed in th[e] 

litigation,” and the mandamus record shows that Sabre had delivered the withheld 

documents to the trial judge for in camera review on April 26, 2022.5 

Meanwhile, American and Sabre filed agreed motions to seal parts of the trialcourt record pertaining to American’s application for a temporary injunction, and the 

trial court ordered those parts of the record sealed. Later, however, in a one-line, 

handwritten order, the trial court sua sponte ordered the entire case file sealed. On

January 18, 2022, the trial court––“through its court coordinator”

6––verbally issued 

the Email Order. 

5The trial court delivered the seven binders of in camera documents to this 

court for purposes of the mandamus proceeding. 

6

It is undisputed that the coordinator was delivering this instruction from the 

trial judge. See Higginbotham v. Collateral Prot., Inc., 859 S.W.2d 487, 490 (Tex. App.—

Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied) (“The record establishes that the court 

coordinator, acting as the agent for the trial court, sent the parties at least two notices 

that the case was set for a jury trial.”); see also Butler v. State, 6 S.W.3d 636, 641 (Tex. 

App.––Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, pet. ref’d) (citing Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 74.101(a)

for establishment of coordinator “to improve justice and to expedite the processing of 
5

American complied with the Email Order until the trial court overruled 

American’s motion to vacate the sua sponte order sealing the entire case file. 

American then filed an appeal from that order in this court.

7

 

Three days after filing the notice of appeal, American filed––with the trial-court 

clerk––a Motion Requesting Authorization To Prepare And Transfer Sealed Clerk’s 

And Reporter’s Records (the Transfer Motion) and a contemporaneous Plaintiff’s 

Designation Specifying Material To Be Included In Clerk’s Record (the Designation).

8

 

The Transfer Motion sought a trial-court order “authorizing the [D]istrict [C]lerk and 

court reporter to prepare the Clerk’s and Reporter’s Records and transmit those 

records to the Second Court of Appeals under seal.”

9

 The Designation, referenced in 

cases through the courts” and citing Higginbotham for the proposition that “the court 

coordinator can act as an ‘agent for the trial court’ in the pursuit of judicial 

economy”). 

7Nothing in this memorandum opinion is to be construed as ruling on the 

issues to be determined in the appeal.

8American filed these appeal documents in a supplemental mandamus record. 

But we may also take judicial notice of our own records in the appeal for purposes of 

this original proceeding. See, e.g., U.S. Cap. Invs., LLC v. Shahbazi, No. 02-17-00199-

CV, 2018 WL 772761, at *2 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 8, 2018, pet. denied) (mem. 

op.); cf. Gardner v. Martin, 345 S.W.2d 274, 276 (Tex. 1961) (“It is well recognized that 

a trial court may take judicial notice of its own records in a cause involving the same 

subject matter between the same, or practically the same, parties.”).

9The Transfer Motion stated that it was being filed in accordance with the 

District Clerk’s “policy [that] require[s] an order from [the trial court] authorizing [the 

District Clerk] to prepare and transmit the Clerk’s and Reporter’s Records to the 

Second Court of Appeals under seal.” Attached was an email from the Administrative 
6

the Transfer Motion, included a three-page Exhibit B that listed the “substantive 

motions and other filings emailed to the court coordinator, in accordance with the”

Email Order that American was requesting to “be included in the Clerk’s Record” for 

the appeal. Sabre did not oppose the Transfer Motion and “designated additional 

material filed with and maintained only by the trial court’s coordinator.” On May 23, 

2022, American sent a letter to the trial court noting that Sabre did not oppose the 

Transfer Motion and “urg[ing] the [c]ourt to consider and promptly rule on the . . . 

Motion by submission so that American [could] proceed with its urgent appeal.” As 

of July 22, 2022, the trial court had not ruled on the Transfer Motion “[d]espite 

multiple requests for a ruling.”

10

 

In the midst of attempting to obtain a complete clerk’s record for the appeal, 

American filed this mandamus proceeding on May 31, 2022––twenty-two days after 

filing the Transfer Motion and twenty-five days after filing its notice of appeal––

complaining of the Motion to Compel Order as well as the Email Order. 

Appeals Clerk indicating that she would “not be able to move forward in preparation 

of the Clerk’s record without the signed Order giving [her] permission to do so.” 

10American stated this fact in its Unopposed Motion for Transfer of 

Designated Trial Court Records filed in the appeal in this court on July 22, 2022; 

therefore, we consider it undisputed. We note that a trial court has a ministerial duty 

to rule on a party’s properly filed motion within a reasonable time after it has been 

submitted to the court or after the party’s request for a ruling. In re Welsh, No. 09-22-

00262-CV, 2022 WL 3651991, at *1 (Tex. App.––Beaumont Aug. 25, 2022, orig. 

proceeding) (mem. op.).
7

III. DISCUSSION

American raises six issues in its mandamus petition. The first four deal with

the Motion to Compel Order, and the fifth issue deals with the Email Order. 

American asserts in its sixth issue that the trial court’s errors cannot be remedied by 

appeal. We grant relief only on its fifth issue and the part of its sixth issue related to 

the fifth issue.

A. Standard of Review

Mandamus relief is an extraordinary remedy. In re Acad., Ltd., 625 S.W.3d 19, 

25 (Tex. 2021) (orig. proceeding). The party seeking mandamus relief must show 

both that the trial court clearly abused its discretion and that the party has no 

adequate remedy by appeal. In re Allstate Indem. Co., 622 S.W.3d 870, 875 (Tex. 2021)

(orig. proceeding). 

A trial court abuses its discretion when a decision is arbitrary, unreasonable, 

and without reference to guiding principles. Id.; see Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 

839–40 (Tex. 1992) (orig. proceeding). We defer to a trial court’s factual 

determinations that have evidentiary support, but we review the trial court’s legal 

determinations de novo. In re Labatt Food Serv., L.P., 279 S.W.3d 640, 643 (Tex. 2009) 

(orig. proceeding). An error of law or an erroneous application of the law to the facts 

is always an abuse of discretion. See In re Geomet Recycling LLC, 578 S.W.3d 82, 91–92 

(Tex. 2019) (orig. proceeding).
8

An appellate remedy’s adequacy has no specific definition; “the term is ‘a proxy 

for the careful balance of jurisprudential considerations’ [that implicate both public 

and private interests,] and its meaning ‘depends heavily on the circumstances 

presented.’” Allstate Indem. Co., 622 S.W.3d at 883 (quoting In re Prudential Ins. of Am., 

148 S.W.3d 124, 136 (Tex. 2004) (orig. proceeding)); In re Ford Motor Co., 165 S.W.3d 

315, 317 (Tex. 2005) (orig. proceeding) (quoting Prudential, 148 S.W.3d at 136); see also

In re McAllen Med. Ctr., Inc., 275 S.W.3d 458, 464 (Tex. 2008) (orig. proceeding)

(“Whether a clear abuse of discretion can be adequately remedied by appeal depends 

on a careful analysis of costs and benefits of interlocutory review.”). 

An appellate remedy is adequate when any benefits to mandamus review are 

outweighed by the detriments. Prudential, 148 S.W.3d at 136. But the converse is not 

necessarily true; even when the benefits of mandamus review outweigh the 

detriments, we must consider whether the appellate remedy is nonetheless adequate. 

Id. In evaluating the benefits and detriments, we consider whether mandamus will 

preserve important substantive and procedural rights from impairment or loss. In re 

Team Rocket, L.P., 256 S.W.3d 257, 262 (Tex. 2008) (orig. proceeding). The danger of 

permanently losing substantial rights occurs when the appellate court would not be 

able to cure the error, when the party’s ability to present a viable claim or defense is 

vitiated, or when the error cannot be made a part of the appellate record. ERCOT, 

Inc. v. Panda Power Generation Infrastructure Fund, LLC, 619 S.W.3d 628, 641 (Tex. 2021)

(orig. proceeding) (citing In re Van Waters & Rogers, Inc., 145 S.W.3d 203, 211 (Tex. 
9

2004) (orig. proceeding)). We should also consider whether mandamus will allow us 

“to give needed and helpful direction to the law that would otherwise prove elusive in 

appeals from final judgments” and “whether mandamus will spare litigants and the 

public ‘the time and money utterly wasted enduring eventual reversal of improperly 

conducted proceedings.’” Team Rocket, 256 S.W.3d at 262 (quoting Prudential, 

148 S.W.3d at 136).

B. Email Order

1. Rules for Tendering Documents to be Filed

A district clerk has a ministerial duty to file a document when it has been 

properly presented to the clerk. In re Samson Expl., LLC, No. 09-22-00081-CV, 2022 

WL 1177276, at *4 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Apr. 21, 2022, orig. proceeding) (mem. 

op.). The Rules of Civil Procedure set forth how documents are to be presented to 

the clerk for filing. The default method, subject to certain enumerated exceptions, is 

that “attorneys must electronically file documents in courts where electronic filing has 

been mandated.” Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(f)(1); see Supreme Court of Tex., Order Requiring 

Electronic Filing in Certain Courts, Misc. Docket No. 13-9164 (Dec. 9, 2013) 

(mandating e-filing for all nonjuvenile civil cases in all district courts by 2016);

11 see also

Supreme Court of Tex., Order Adopting the Recommendations of the Judicial 

11This order vacates and supersedes two prior orders mandating e-filing: 

Supreme Court of Tex., Order Requiring Electronic Filing in Certain Courts, Misc. 

Docket No. 13-9092 (June 24, 2013), and Supreme Court of Tex., Order Requiring 

Electronic Filing in Certain Courts, Misc. Docket No. 12-9206 (Dec. 11, 2012).
10

Committee on Information Technology for Access to Electronically Filed Court 

Documents by Judges, Clerks, and Attorneys Through re:SearchTX, Misc. Docket

No. 17-9025 (Feb. 21, 2017) (noting in introduction that “e-access . . . is more

efficient for judges, clerks, lawyers, and parties” and “provides greater transparency 

for the justice system that is critical to evaluating its operation, improving its 

procedures, and strengthening public trust”). “[D]ocuments filed under seal or 

presented to the court in camera” are among the exceptions to electronic filing and 

“must not be filed electronically.” Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(f)(4)(B)(i).12 Nevertheless,

[e]very pleading, plea, motion, or application to the court for an order, 

whether in the form of a motion, plea, or other form of request, unless 

presented during a hearing or trial, must be filed with the clerk of the court in 

writing, . . . and at the same time a true copy must be served on all other

parties, and must be noted on the docket.

Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(a) (emphasis added), 74 (“The filing of pleadings, other papers[,]

and exhibits as required by these rules shall be made by filing them with the clerk of 

the court . . . .”).

13 Therefore, under Rule 21, documents not filed electronically that 

are not “presented during a hearing or trial” should be filed in paper form with the 

clerk of the court. Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(a), 21(f)(4)(B)(i); cf. Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(f)(4)(C) 

(listing as one of the exceptions to the e-filing requirement that “[f]or good cause, a 

12Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering that documents 

under seal not be filed electronically. 

13In addition, the Tarrant County Local Rules provide that “[a]ll pleadings,

motions, notices, and any other paper, document[,] or thing made a part of the record 

in any civil, family law[,] or criminal case shall be filed with the Clerk.” Tarrant (Tex.) 

Loc. R. 1.06(a).
11

court may permit a party to file other documents in paper form in a particular case”

(emphasis added)).

A paper copy permitted to be filed with the trial court clerk may be filed by 

mail or by hand delivery. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 5, 21(a), 74. “[P]leadings, other papers 

and exhibits” may also be filed with a judge, at the judge’s discretion. Tex. R. Civ. 

P. 74; Stokes v. Aberdeen Ins., 917 S.W.2d 267, 268 (Tex. 1996) (mentioning that Rule 74 

gives judge discretion to accept filing); In re Welvaert, No. 10-19-00131-CV, 2019 WL 

1966962, at *2 (Tex. App.––Waco May 1, 2019, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.) (noting 

same); State v. One Million Seven Hundred Eleven Thousand Sixty-One Dollars & Seventy-Nine

Cents ($1,711,061.79) in U.S. Currency (Currency Forfeiture), No. 04-18-00379-CV, 

2018 WL 6793787, at *5 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Dec. 27, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.)

(noting that fact that judge is authorized to accept documents for filing does not mean 

he did so, especially when judge did not comply with remainder of Rule 74 by noting 

filing date and time on document and forwarding it to the district clerk); In re Cuban, 

24 S.W.3d 381, 383 (Tex. App.––Dallas 2000, orig. proceeding) (“A judge may accept 

a document for filing.”). But when a document is so filed, the judge has the duty to 

“note thereon the filing date and time and forthwith transmit the[ document] to the 

office of the clerk.” Tex. R. Civ. P. 74 (providing that if papers are filed with judge, 

the judge “shall note thereon the filing date and time and forthwith transmit them to 

the office of the clerk”); Cuban, 24 S.W.3d at 383 (stating that when judge accepts 

filing under Rule 74, “[t]he judge is to note the date and time on the document and 
12

forward it to the clerk’s office”); cf. Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 311.002, 311.016(2) 

(providing that for purposes of Code Construction Act, the word “‘[s]hall’ imposes a 

duty”).

2. Purposes of District Clerk’s Duties Regarding Court Records

Various statutes and rules govern the district clerk’s duties vis à vis filing 

documents, and case law applies those statutes and rules to different circumstances 

based on the specific reasons therefor. As we discuss below, among the primary 

purposes for the district clerk’s prescribed duties are to keep and maintain court 

records in a timely and orderly fashion (1) so that there are no questions about when 

documents were filed or presented for due-date purposes, (2) so that court records 

may be timely accessed and viewed by those permitted to do so, and (3) so that 

documents are maintained securely to protect against unauthorized access or loss.

The Texas Government Code expressly assigns responsibility for court filings 

to the district clerk. Subsections (a) and (b)(1) of Government Code Section 51.303 

provide that a district clerk “has custody of and shall carefully maintain and arrange 

the records relating to or lawfully deposited in the clerk’s office” and that the clerk 

“shall . . . record the acts and proceedings of the court.” Tex. Gov’t Code 

Ann. § 51.303(a)–(b)(1). Additionally, although the Texas Legislature has given 

district clerks the authority to maintain and store documents “by microfilm, image 

processing technology, or other process that correctly and legibly reproduces or that 

forms a medium for copying or reproducing or by optical data storage,” that authority 
13

is subject to numerous conditions; one such condition is that the district clerk’s 

maintenance and storage plan must “provide standards for the organizing, identifying,

coding, and indexing of records so a record can be retrieved rapidly and the reproduced 

record can be certified as a true and correct copy.” Id. § 51.304(a), (b)(3) (emphasis 

added). The district clerk’s maintenance and storage plan must also “provide for the 

permanent retention of records, including security provisions to guard against physical

loss, alteration, and deterioration.” Id. § 51.304(b)(5). In contrast, nothing in 

Government Code Chapter 24 assigns or delegates the above duties to a district-court 

judge. See generally id. §§ 24.001–.034, 24.601–.607.

For purposes of determining timeliness, “an instrument is deemed in law filed 

at the time it is left with the clerk, regardless of whether or not a file mark is placed on 

the instrument and regardless of whether the file mark gives some other date of 

filing.” Standard Fire Ins. v. LaCoke, 585 S.W.2d 678, 680 (Tex. 1979). Thus, a party 

satisfies its duty under the Rules of Civil Procedure by “put[ting] a legal instrument in 

the custody and control of the court clerk.”

14

 Warner v. Glass, 135 S.W.3d 681, 684 

(Tex. 2004). “The purpose of this rule is to protect a diligent party from being 

penalized by errors and omissions of the court clerk.” Garza v. State, 919 S.W.2d 788, 

790 & n.4 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, no pet.) (noting––in bail-bond 

case governed by Rules of Civil Procedure––that “[a]n essential purpose of filing 

14“Electronic service is complete on transmission of the document to the 

serving party’s electronic filing service provider.” Tex. R. Civ. P. 21a(b)(3). 
14

documents is to make them part of the records of the district or county clerk . . . and

trial court for future reference” and that “having documents in the files of the court 

and clerk forecloses” questions about when filing and presentment of documents has 

occurred); Kelly Moore Paint Co. v. Ne. Nat’l Bank of Fort Worth, 426 S.W.2d 591, 593

(Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1968, no writ) (“One of the official duties of the clerk is to 

know ‘what his office records show with respect to pending litigation.’” (quoting 

Hanks v. Rosser, 378 S.W.2d 31, 34 (Tex. 1964))).

But the term “filed” has a different meaning when viewed from the perspective 

of the clerk. See In re Smith, 270 S.W.3d 783, 786 (Tex. App.—Waco 2008, orig. 

proceeding). Under Rules of Civil Procedure 24 through 26, the clerk must

• “[w]hen a petition is filed . . . indorse thereon the file number, the day 

on which it was filed and the time of filing, and sign his name officially 

thereto”;

• “keep a file docket which shall show in convenient form the number 

of the suit, the names of the attorneys, the names of the parties to the 

suit, and the nature thereof, and, in brief form, the officer’s return on the 

process, and all subsequent proceedings had in the case with the dates 

thereof”; [and]

• “keep a court docket in a permanent record that shall include the 

number of the case and the names of the parties, the names of the 

attorneys, the nature of the action, the pleas, the motions, and the ruling 

of the court as made.”

Tex. R. Civ. P. 24–26. Thus, the clerk physically “‘files’ a document by indorsing a file 

mark on it, recording it in the clerk’s file docket, and maintaining the document in the 

clerk’s file for the suit.” Smith, 270 S.W.3d at 786.
15

After a document has been filed with the district clerk, “[e]ach attorney at law 

practicing in any court shall be allowed at all reasonable times to inspect the papers 

and records relating to any suit or other matter in which he may be interested.” Tex. 

R. Civ. P. 76; see Glidden Co. v. Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co., 291 S.W.2d 315, 318 (Tex. 1956) 

(noting that papers delivered to the clerk’s custody for filing are “to be kept by him 

among the papers in his office subject to such inspection by interested parties as may 

be permitted by law”). Moreover, Rule 76a provides that “[c]ourt records may not be 

removed from court files except as permitted by statute or rule.” Tex. R. Civ.

P. 76a.15

Finally, when a notice of appeal has been filed, the trial-court clerk has a duty 

to prepare, certify, and timely file the clerk’s record with the appellate court if “the 

party responsible for paying for the preparation of the clerk’s record has paid the 

15“[C]ourt records” are defined by Rule 76a as 

all documents of any nature filed in connection with any matter before 

any civil court, except:

(1) documents filed with a court in camera, solely for the purpose

of obtaining a ruling on the discoverability of such documents;

(2) documents in court files to which access is otherwise restricted 

by law; [and]

(3) documents filed in an action originally arising under the Family 

Code.

Tex. R. Civ. P. 76a(2)(a).
16

clerk’s fee, has made satisfactory arrangements with the clerk to pay the fee, or is 

entitled to appeal without paying the fee.” Tex. R. App. P. 35.3(a). The clerk’s record

and reporter’s record comprise the “appellate record.” Tex. R. App. P. 34.1. Each 

case––even if bearing multiple cause numbers––has only one appellate record––and, 

unless an exception applies, that record is due sixty days after the notice of appeal is

filed. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a)–(c), 34.1, 35.1.

3. No Waiver

Sabre contends that American waived its complaint about the Email Order by 

complying with it without objection. Error-preservation rules apply to original 

proceedings. In re Rowes, No. 05-14-00606-CV, 2014 WL 2452723, at *1 (Tex. App.––

Dallas May 30, 2014, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.). Thus, generally, to be considered 

in an original proceeding, a complaint must have been presented to the trial court by 

timely request, objection, or motion. Tex. R. App. P. 33.1(a)(1). A request, objection,

or motion is considered timely if it is asserted when the potential error becomes 

apparent. Hoxie Implement Co. v. Baker, 65 S.W.3d 140, 145 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 

2001, pet. denied).

Here, from the very beginning of the suit, American was focused on expediting 

the proceedings. While it is true that American followed the Email Order for almost 

four months, the parties were serving the filings to each other via email, in accordance 

with the protections agreed to in the protective order. Therefore, the parties were 
17

able to access the documents for purposes of the litigation. And no disputes arose 

over the timeliness or accuracy of the emailed documents.

16

But the nature and scope of, and harm from, the error became apparent when 

American filed the appeal of the trial court’s sua sponte sealing order. At that time,

American filed the Transfer Motion and the Designation, attempting to have the 

emailed documents filed in a clerk’s record in this court. American has represented to 

this court––without dispute––that it has made “multiple requests” for a ruling on the 

Transfer Motion. Despite the fact that the clerk’s record in the appeal was due on 

July 1, 2022, the trial court did not rule on the Transfer Motion before this court had 

to grant American’s Unopposed Motion for Transfer of Designated Trial Court 

Records filed in the appeal. Under these particular circumstances, we conclude that 

American raised this very issue with the trial court at the time the error became 

apparent and that the trial court refused to rule on American’s complaint. See Tex. R. 

App. P. 33.1(a)(1), (2)(B). 

When a clerk’s record was filed in the appeal on July 12, 2022, not only was it

filed after we extended the filing date, but it also did not include the documents that 

had been emailed to the court coordinator according to the Email Order. Therefore, 

on American’s unopposed motion, we ordered the trial court “to direct the court 

16American has noted in its mandamus petition, for example, that it agreed to 

seal the temporary-injunction proceedings “to avoid further delay in scheduling the 

temporary[-]injunction hearing.” 
18

coordinator of the 236th District Court––and any other trial court personnel in

possession of digital or paper copies of the described items––to forward to the 

Tarrant County District Clerk” the emailed documents that both parties had 

designated to be included in the clerk’s record for the appeal.17 See Tex. R. App. 

P. 35.3(c). And we recently granted a two-week extension of time to file the 

supplemental clerk’s record containing the emailed documents––from August 25, 

2022, until September 9, 2022––based on the trial-court clerk’s representation that 

“[p]er the request of the Court Coordinator, Rhonda Young, documents are not 

readily available.” Although those documents were finally filed on September 7, 2022, 

the filing of a complete clerk’s record in the appeal was delayed for two months and 

has required multiple orders from this court to accomplish.

18

 

17We ordered Sabre to file a supplemental response to the mandamus petition 

to explain whether, despite its lack of opposition to an order compelling the trial court 

to transfer certain of the documents that had been emailed to its court coordinator to 

the District Clerk for inclusion in the appellate record, Sabre remained opposed to 

American’s request for mandamus relief as to the remaining documents emailed to the 

court coordinator under this procedure, as well as the forwarding of future documents 

in this manner. Sabre filed a supplemental response in which it states that its 

“agreement with the motion reflected its position that the documents delivered to the 

court coordinator are properly part of the appellate record.” We find no merit in 

Sabre’s argument that because some of the documents subjected to the disputed 

procedure “are in the process of being included in the sealed appellate record for 02-22-00159-

CV,” American cannot show harm as to the remaining documents that have never 

been properly forwarded to the District Clerk under Rule 74.

18Although the appeal is interlocutory in the sense that no final judgment has 

been signed, sealing orders under Rule 76a are deemed severed from the case and 

function as a final judgment. Tex. R. Civ. P. 76a(8). Therefore, the appeal is not 

subject to an accelerated schedule.
19

Although American characterizes its complaint as one of fundamental error, we 

need not decide whether the complained-of action is of the type that need not be 

preserved. Under the unique circumstances of this case, we hold that American 

sought relief from the trial court when the problem of which it complains––inability 

to obtain a timely and complete clerk’s record––became apparent.19 That the trial

court––in the face of a filed appeal with set deadlines––refused to comply with 

Rule 74, even after American pointed out the problem and sought an express order, 

was sufficient to preserve this issue for our review. See also Tex. Gov’t Code 

Ann. § 22.221(a) (providing that court of appeals may issue writ of mandamus to 

enforce its jurisdiction); cf. In re Simmonds, 271 S.W.3d 874, 879 (Tex. App.––Waco 

2008, orig. proceeding) (holding that if both district clerk and district court refuse to 

19Although procedurally Sabre complains that American failed to timely pursue 

this complaint in the trial court, its argument also implicates the timing of American’s 

mandamus petition. For similar reasons, we hold that––on these facts––American did 

not unduly delay in filing its mandamus petition. See In re Am. Airlines, Inc., 

634 S.W.3d 38, 43 (Tex. 2021) (orig. proceeding) (holding that American “reasonably 

explained the year-long period” before it sought mandamus relief because it did not 

receive the complained-of order for four months and real party in interest thereafter 

failed to comply with the trial court’s ordered prerequisite notice for taking the 

compelled deposition; thus, American was justified in filing mandamus petition in the 

face of impending trial to avoid rescheduling the trial date); cf. In re Whataburger Rests.

LLC, 645 S.W.3d 188, 193–94 (Tex. 2022) (orig. proceeding) (holding that

Whataburger was entitled to mandamus relief when clerk’s failure to notify it of 

issuance of appealable interlocutory order precluded it from filing appeal and that 

Whataburger did not “sleep on its rights” by not checking with the trial court to see if 

such an order had issued because counsel should be able to rely on clerk’s duty to 

notify).
20

accept document for filing, court of appeals has jurisdiction to consider whether to

order district court to accept filing).

4. Consequences of Failure to Comply With Rule 74 Duties on Filing

A trial judge’s lack of compliance with Rule 74 when accepting documents for 

filing prevents the district clerk from complying with his or her statutory and Rulebased duties. That a trial judge to whom a document was tendered did not comply 

with the mandatory language of Rule 74 has been construed as evidence that the judge 

exercised Rule 74’s discretion not to accept the document for filing. See Currency 

Forfeiture, 2018 WL 6793787, at *4–5; Garza, 919 S.W.2d at 789–90; see also Harbin v. 

Brown, Graham & Co., No. 07-98-0209-CV, 1999 WL 311097, at *1 (Tex. App.––

Amarillo 1999, pet. denied) (per curiam) (op. on reh’g, not designated for publication). 

But cf. Defee v. Defee, 966 S.W.2d 719, 721 (Tex. App.––San Antonio 1998, no pet.) 

(refusing to speculate on when waiver document found in clerk’s custody but without 

clerk’s official file-stamp was filed but deferring to bill-of-review judge’s finding that 

trial judge had accepted and placed the waiver in the court’s file). Therefore, when a 

judge agrees to accept a filing under Rule 74 but does not also comply expeditiously 

with the requirements of Rule 74 by noting the filing date and time on the document 
21

and by “forthwith”

20 transmitting the documents to the district clerk, the primary 

purposes of filing documents, as explained above, are thwarted.

Although it is understandable in a complex case such as this one––involving

voluminous filings by both parties and nonparties, many of which contain confidential

material subject to protective orders––that the trial court would make every effort to 

prevent inadvertent disclosure of a document to an unauthorized person, the 

procedure fashioned here not only does not comply with Rule 74, but it also prevents

the District Clerk from complying with his statutory and Rule-based obligations. The 

majority of documents tendered in this case from January 18, 2022, to at least July 12, 

2022, were not placed in the District Clerk’s custody for months. Thus, the District 

Clerk has been prevented from complying with his statutory duty to maintain, store, 

and arrange these records, as well as his duty to implement security measures “to 

guard against physical loss, alteration, and deterioration” of those records. See Tex. 

Gov’t Code Ann. § 51.304(a), (b)(5). Finally, nothing indicates how, or if, these 

documents emailed to the court coordinator have been organized, identified, coded, 

or indexed so that they “can be retrieved rapidly.”

21

 See id. § 51.304(b)(3).

20Black’s Law Dictionary defines “forthwith” as “[i]mmediately,” “without 

delay,” “directly,” “promptly,” “within a reasonable time under the circumstances,”

and “with all convenient dispatch.” Forthwith, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

21In fact, the opposite appears to have been established when the court 

coordinator told the trial-court clerk that the documents are “not readily available.” 
22

Moreover, the Email Order has interfered with the District Clerk’s and this 

court’s duties in the pending appeal vis à vis the appellate record.

22

 Sabre contends 

that American has not been harmed because it was served all of these documents and 

has them in its possession, as evidenced by its ability to provide us a mandamus 

record. But the fact that an appeal from the Email Order (after a final judgment) is 

inadequate is illustrated by this court’s difficulty in obtaining a timely and complete 

clerk’s record for the pending appeal of the sealing order. This court and the trial 

court are “jointly responsible for ensuring that the appellate record is timely filed.” 

Tex. R. App. P. 35.3(c). A district clerk has a duty to timely file the clerk’s record 

portion of the appellate record. Tex. R. App. P. 35.3(a). We cannot consider

documents that are not part of the appellate record. See Cummings v. Billman, 

634 S.W.3d 163, 166 n.1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.) Our 

inability to timely obtain a complete clerk’s record and thereby timely order briefing in 

the appeal amply shows why mandamus relief is appropriate. Moreover, the fact that 

Sabre did not oppose the supplementation of the clerk’s record in the appeal helps 

show why mandamus relief is appropriate here. Complex litigation can often spawn 

22Cf. In re M.R.J.M., 193 S.W.3d 670, 675–76 (Tex. App.––Fort Worth 2006, 

order) (en banc) (reasoning that statute––allowing trial court to find that appeal from 

parental-rights termination judgment would be frivolous––would be unconstitutional 

if interpreted to allow frivolousness finding to obviate the filing of a complete

appellate record in this court for review of factual-sufficiency argument urged on 

appeal), disp. on merits, 280 S.W.3d 494 (Tex. App.––Fort Worth 2009, no pet.) (op. on 

reh’g).
23

multiple appeals. If we were not to order relief now, we could be faced with having to 

issue piecemeal orders for the trial court to comply with its Rule 74 duty each time an 

appeal is filed. Such a remedy would be wasteful in any litigation, much less one in 

which the plaintiff has expressly sought expedited relief.23

5. Civil Practice and Remedies Code Does Not Authorize Procedure

Sabre finally contends that Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section

134A.006(a)––which provides that in an “action” under Chapter 134A, “a court shall 

preserve the secrecy of an alleged trade secret by reasonable means”––is instructive as 

to whether the trial court was authorized to mandate this alternative to filing

documents in the clerk’s record. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 134A.006(a). 

That section goes on to establish “a presumption in favor of granting protective 

orders to preserve the secrecy of trade secrets” and permits such orders to “include 

provisions limiting access to confidential information to only the attorneys and their 

experts, holding in camera hearings, sealing the records of the action, and ordering 

any person involved in the litigation not to disclose an alleged trade secret without 

prior court approval.” Id. But these described protective provisions are permissive

only. See HouseCanary, Inc. v. Title Source, Inc., 622 S.W.3d 254, 260 (Tex. 2021).

We do not agree that Section 134A.006 allows the trial court to implement the 

procedure here contrary to the Rules of Civil Procedure and the duties of the District 

23We should not be understood as laying the blame for any delay solely on one 

party or condoning all of the litigation conduct of any one party.
24

Clerk set forth in the Government Code. Even if Chapter 134A applied to 

American’s claim, Section 134A.007(c) controls over the Rules of Civil Procedure 

only “[t]o the extent that [it] conflicts with” them. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. 

§ 134A.007(c). And Section 134A.006’s listed permissive protective-order provisions 

say nothing about restricting a party’s ability to obtain and have filed a timely, 

complete appellate record. Accordingly, whether the trial court could look to that 

provision for guidance in crafting its orders does not excuse its lack of compliance

with Rule 74.

6. Disposition

We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by directing the parties to

email documents to the court coordinator instead of filing them via paper with the 

District Clerk and also by failing to comply with Rule 74 by properly marking those 

documents and forwarding them “forthwith” to the District Clerk. We further 

conclude that American has shown that it does not have an adequate remedy by 

appeal. We therefore sustain American’s fifth issue and part of its sixth issue.

C. Motion to Compel Order

Regarding American’s other, discovery-related complaints, we have carefully 

reviewed American’s petition, Sabre’s response, American’s reply, Sabre’s 

supplemental response, the mandamus record, and the documents presented to the 

trial court for in camera review. Having done so, we deny relief. See Tex. R. App. 

P. 52.8(a), (d).
25

IV. CONCLUSION

Having determined that the trial court abused its discretion by directing the 

parties to email all documents to be filed to the court coordinator rather than filing 

them by paper under seal with the District Clerk and then by failing to comply with 

Rule 74 by noting the filing date and time on the so-tendered documents and 

transmitting them forthwith to the District Clerk, we order the trial court to vacate its 

verbal directive to the parties to forward all documents to be filed to its court 

coordinator via email. We further order the trial court––to the extent it has not 

already done so––to comply with Rule 74 by noting the filing date and time on the 

documents tendered solely to the court coordinator via email in accordance with the 

Email Order.

24

 We direct the court coordinator of the 236th District Court––and any 

other trial court personnel in possession of digital or paper copies of the described 

items––to then forward any of those file-marked documents that have not already 

been forwarded according to our July 26, 2022 order in cause number 

24We note that the trial court did not so file mark the documents forwarded to 

the District Clerk under seal for inclusion in the clerk’s record in appeal cause number 

02-22-00159-CV—although some, but not all, of the documents are stamped 

“received” with a date and the court coordinator’s initials. However, those

documents appear to be arranged in chronological order by date of tender. Rather 

than delay the appeal further––and in the absence of any pending motion seeking to 

have those documents properly file marked––we decline to, at this time, order the trial 

court to have a supplemental clerk’s record filed in the appeal that contains filemarked versions of those particular documents.
26

02-22-00159-CV to the Tarrant County District Clerk under seal. We deny all other 

relief requested by American in its petition for writ of mandamus.

/s/ Dana Womack

Dana Womack

Justice

Delivered: September 12, 2022