Court Opinion

ID: 9662914
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 23:22:44.933399+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:43.923982
License: Public Domain

NYE, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The majority has no authority to consider the late filing of the statement of facts in this case, since no exception to the language of the rule is permitted.
Rule 54 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure states: “The transcript and statement of facts ... shall be filed in the appellate court within sixty days after the judgment is signed_ The court (of appeals) has authority to consider all timely filed transcripts and statements of facts, but shall have no authority to consider a late filed transcript or statement of facts, except as permitted by this rule.” No exception is applicable to the situation before us.
Tex.R.App.P. 2 states that: “These rules shall not be construed to extend or limit the jurisdiction of the court of appeals ...” By construing Rule 54 to permit the untimely filing of a statement of facts, the *192majority has, in effect, extended the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals to consider an appeal with the aid of the statement of facts in contravention of Rule 54.
A brief history of the chronological events leading up to the granting of the motion by the majority is important. It shows that the clerk of this court meticulously notified appellant’s attorney of what was expected, even though the responsibilities clearly belonged to the attorney involved.
The statement of facts was originally due to be filed in this Court on or before October 4, 1989, but it was not filed. Appellant then filed a timely motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts. This Court granted appellant’s first motion by letter and extended the time for filing the statement of facts until November 12, 1989. The letter granting the motion was addressed to the attorneys in the case. Copies of the letter, as a matter of courtesy, were sent to the court reporter and the trial judge. A second motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts was timely filed on November 27, 1989, by the appellant. Again, this Court granted appellant’s request and on December 7, 1989, we extended the time for filing the statement of facts until December 28, 1989. Again, the letter granting the extension was addressed to the attorneys in the case, with copies being sent to the court reporter and the trial judge. No statement of facts was filed on December 28, 1989, and no timely third motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts was ever tendered to this Court.
On January 2, 1990, a court reporter’s affidavit was received and filed in this Court. However, since no motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts had been filed by the appellant, as required by Tex.R.App.P. 54(c), this Court notified the attorneys by letter that the affidavit had been filed and that upon receipt of appellant’s motion for leave to file the statement of facts, the affidavit would be attached to said motion. On January 3,1990, the statement of facts was received in this Court, and the attorneys were notified that the statement of facts had been marked “received” as untimely filed. Mr. Cypert, the attorney of record for the appellant, was specifically requested to file a motion in accordance with Tex.R.App.P. 5k(c). The deadline for timely filing such motion was January 12, 1990. A motion was not tendered by the appellant’s attorney until January 18, 1990, six days too late.
The majority would have us consider the court reporter's affidavit to be a timely-filed motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts. This violates the provisions of Tex.R.App.P. 4 which, among other things, requires the motion to be signed by the attorney or the party to the appeal and give proper service and notice to opposing attorneys and parties.
The majority would have this Court act “on its own motion” and allow the filing of the statement of facts. However, Tex.R. App.P. 54(a), which specifically governs this situation, unequivocally states that this Court has no authority to consider a late filed statement of facts. The burden is on the appellant to see that a sufficient record is presented to show error requiring reversal. Tex.R.App.P. 50(d). It can never be the responsibility of the court reporter, the clerk, or the justices of this Court to ensure that a proper record for review is timely filed. We should never assume the additional discretionary responsibility to allow the filing of the statement of facts in selected situations.
Next, the majority would have us believe that we misled the attorney for the appellant in the clerk’s letter granting the second motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts. The majority stated that the letter could be construed as being “open ended,” implying that a “timely filing” date could be set at a show cause hearing. This cannot be true! The letter did not relieve the appellant from the duty of complying with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. In fact, on two occasions subsequent to this Court’s letter rulings, the clerk of this Court notified the appellant’s attorney that a motion pursuant to Tex.R.App.P. 54(c) needed to be *193filed. On both occasions, the appellant failed to respond. There was no confusion concerning what was required by this Court. The rules are clear and unequivocal. For the appellant, and now the majority, to argue that a possible show cause hearing involving the court reporter caused confusion concerning the duty of the appealing party to comply with the appellate rules ignores this Court’s notices to the parties and the attorney’s responsibility under appellate procedure and practice.
The majority states that no violence is done to the principle set forth in B.D. Click Co., Inc. v. Safari Drilling Corp., 638 S.W.2d 860 (Tex.1982) and carried forward in Tex.R.App.P. 54(c). However, the effect of today’s holding does violence to both the principle in Click and the Rules of Appellate Procedure. It completely overturns that principle and obliterates the requirements of Rule 54(c). I would deny the appellant’s late filed motion for extension of time to file the statement of facts.