Helen Mayfield v. the Eagle Newspaper, Holly Huffman, Matthew Watkins & John P. Barnwell, CEO of the Evening Post Publishing Co.

Opinion

Abatement Order filed May 10, 2012.

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In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

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NO. 14-12-00034-CV

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HELEN MAYFIELD, Appellant

V.

THE EAGLE NEWSPAPER, HOLLY HUFFMAN, MATTHEW WATKINS & JOHN P. BARNWELL, CEO OF THE EVENING POST PUBLISHING CO., JOINTLY AND SEVERALLY, Appellees

On Appeal from the 129th District Court Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 2011-26254

ABATEMENT ORDER

On January 10, 2012, appellant filed a notice of appeal from a summary judgment signed on or about December 12, 2011. Appellant seeks to proceed without the advance payment of costs in her appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 20.1. On April 21, 2012, appellant filed a notice of appeal from the order sustaining the contest to her affidavit of indigence signed on or about April 16, 2012, and an appeal is pending under our case number 14-12-00392-CV.

An appellant is entitled to challenge the denial of indigent status for her appeal, and the court of appeals may order the record necessary for a review of the trial court’s ruling without the advance payment of costs. See In re Arroyo, 988 S.W.2d 737, 738-39 (Tex. 1998). Accordingly, this court has ordered preparation of a partial record necessary to review the trial court’s order sustaining the contest(s) to appellant’s affidavit.

We order this appeal ABATED pending the completion of our review in the related appeal filed under our number 14-12-00308-CV. The appeal is abated, treated as a closed case, and removed from this court's active docket. The appeal will be reinstated on this court's active docket when the review of the trial court's ruling on indigency has been completed. The court will also consider an appropriate motion to reinstate the appeal filed by any party.

PER CURIAM