Court Opinion

ID: 9365183
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-23 07:09:05.411211+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:43.552077
License: Public Domain

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE
                           FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

                                            ORDER

Appellate case name:         Eugenia Woodard v. Texas Department of Insurance, Division
                             of Workers’ Compensation, CAPPS Electric Company, and
                             Texas Mutual Insurance Company
Appellate case number:       01-22-00761-CV
Trial court case number:     2022-15901
Trial court:                 157th District Court of Harris County
       On October 17, 2022, appellant, Eugenia Woodard, proceeding pro se, filed a notice
of appeal from the trial court’s October 5, 2022 “Order Granting Amended Plea to the
Jurisdiction and Motion to Strike” filed by appellee, the Texas Department of Insurance,
Division of Workers’ Compensation. The appellate record was due to be filed by
December 5, 2022. See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.1. Despite that the appellate record was not
complete, on December 5, 2022, appellant prematurely filed her brief with the Court. See
TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(a) (appellant’s brief due within thirty days of date appellate record
completed).
        Because appellant’s December 5, 2022 brief was prematurely filed, the Clerk of this
Court accepted appellant’s brief as “received.” Further, because the appellate record was
not yet completed at the time appellant filed her brief, the brief does not contain any “record
references” or “a clear and concise argument for the contentions made, with appropriate
citations to authorities and the record.” TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(d), (g), (i). Accordingly, the
Court strikes the December 5, 2022 brief filed by appellant.
        The clerk’s record was then filed with the Clerk of this Court on December 6, 2022.
On December 9, 2022, the official court reporter for the 157th District Court of Harris
County notified the Clerk of this Court that there was no reporter’s record for this case.
Accordingly, the deadline for appellant’s brief could then be determined, and was due no
later than January 11, 2023. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(a).
      On January 3, 2023, appellant filed a motion with the Court, acknowledging that
her December 5, 2022 brief was filed “premature[ly] . . . without [the appellate] record.”
Appellant therefore requested an extension of time to for filing her brief because the record
had now been completed. On January 4, 2023, the Court granted appellant’s motion and
set her deadline for filing her appellant’s brief as February 10, 2023.
       Further, Texas Mutual Insurance Company, which states it is an appellee in this
appeal, has filed a “First Motion to Extend Time to File Brief,” requesting an extension of
its deadline to file a brief. As noted above, the deadline for appellant to file her brief has
been extended by the Court to February 10, 2023. Accordingly, no deadline has no
deadline for appellee’s brief has been determined. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(b).
         Accordingly, Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s motion for extension of time to
file its appellee’s brief is dismissed as moot. Any appellee which files a brief must do
so no later than thirty days from the filing of appellant’s brief. See TEX. R. APP. P.
38.6(b).
       Appellant has also filed a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs
or an Appeal Bond and has requested that she be permitted to proceed on appeal without
payment of costs. As noted above, the clerk’s record was filed with this Court on December
6, 2022. Based on the Court’s records, the clerk’s record was filed at no cost to appellant.
The clerk’s record also incudes a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs,
filed with the trial court on March 16, 2022. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a), (b), (d); see also
TEX. R. CIV. P. 502.3. Further, the appellate record does not reflect that any motion to
require appellant to pay costs or any contest to appellant’s filed statement of inability to
afford payment of court costs has been filed by any party. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(f); TEX.
R. APP. P. 20.1(b).
      Accordingly, the Clerk of this Court is directed to make an entry in this Court’s
records that appellant is allowed to proceed on appeal without payment of costs. See
TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a); TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1.
       It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: ____/s/ April Farris_______
                    Acting individually  Acting for the Court

Date: ___January 19, 2023____