Donald Ray McCray v. Harris County and Becky Tibbs

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: April 26, 2007
• Docket: 14-07-00216-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed April 26, 2007

Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed April 26, 2007.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-07-00216-CV

DONALD RAY McCRAY, Appellant

V.

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, and BECKY TIBBS, ET AL., Appellees

On Appeal from the 334th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 06-26765

M E M O R A N D U M  O P I N I O N

The clerk=s record was filed on April 2, 2007.  Appellant=s notice of appeal specifies the date of judgment as February 9, 2007.  The clerk=s record contains an order, signed February 9, 2007, which denies appellant=s motion for continuance of the trial setting and vacates the docket control order.  Appellant also filed an affidavit of indigence.

The clerk=s record also contains an order, signed on March 27, 2007, which includes the following determinations:  (1) this cause was originally filed in Walker County; (2) the cause was dismissed pursuant to Chapter 14 on October 17, 2005; (3) Walker County transferred the cause to Harris County and the file was received on April 25, 2006; (4) the 334th District Court entered a docket control order on May 19, 2006, from which appellant filed a notice of appeal on June 5, 2006; (5) the 14th Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because there was no final, appealable order; (6) on February 9, 2007, the 334th District Court vacated its docket control order because it appeared Athe Walker County court=s dismissal was a final order@; (7) appellant filed a notice of appeal from the February 9, 2007, order and filed an affidavit of indigence on March 5, 2007; (8) a contest to the affidavit was filed; and (9) the contest is overruled and the cause should be administratively closed. 

The February 9, 2007, and the March 27, 2007, orders are not the final judgments in this case.  This case originates from a suit filed in Walker County, which was dismissed by judgment signed on October 17, 2005.  Accordingly, the appealable judgment in this case was signed on October 17, 2005.  We cannot determine from this court=s record  whether appellant appealed this judgment.  If he did not, the time period for an appeal has passed.  In this court=s orders issued on February 9, 2007, and March 27, 2007,  we did not dispose of the cause, but merely recognized that a final judgment was signed on October 17, 2005. 

On January 22, 2007, notification was transmitted to the parties of this court=s intention to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction unless appellant filed a response demonstrating grounds for continuing the appeal on or before February 1, 2007.  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).

Appellant filed a response on April 19, 2007.  Appellant=s response fails to demonstrate that this court has jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. 

Accordingly, the appeal is ordered dismissed.

PER CURIAM

Judgment rendered and Memorandum Opinion filed April 26, 2007.

Panel consists of Justices Yates, Edelman, and Seymore.