in the Interest of M.L.L.R., a Child

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: December 9, 2021
• Docket: 14-21-00629-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motion for extension granted, motion to amend brief denied, and Order filed December 9, 2021

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-21-00629-CV ____________

IN THE INTEREST OF M.L.L.R., A CHILD

On Appeal from the 507th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2016-53465

ORDER

Before the court are a motion to extend time to file brief filed by appellant U.L, proceeding pro se, on November 18, 2021; appellant’s principal brief filed November 24, 2021; and appellant’s motion to amend brief filed November 29, 2021.

Although appellant filed her brief within the time frame envisioned by her motion, that brief is not in compliance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. The brief fails generally to comply with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.9, because it repeatedly includes a minor’s unredacted name in the brief, including in at least one email address.

Accordingly, we order appellant’s brief STRICKEN. Relatedly, we also grant appellant’s motion for an extension until December 27, 2021 to file a brief in compliance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. Appellant is ordered to file a brief that complies with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure by that date. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.1. No further extensions of that deadline will be granted absent extraordinary circumstances. That brief must also include aliases of family members of that minor, such as their initialed names. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.8(b)(1)(B).

If appellant files another brief that does not comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and this court’s instructions regarding sensitive information, the court may strike the brief, prohibit appellant from filing another, and proceed as if appellant had failed to file a brief. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.9(a). Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.8(a), where an appellant has failed to file a brief, we may dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution. If appellant fails to timely file a brief in accordance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the appeal will be dismissed for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(1).

Finally, appellant’s motion to amend her brief does not seek to amend the text of her brief itself, but rather to file a variety of documents from the trial court’s record (comprising pages 5 through 284 of the motion) as an appendix to the brief. That appendix, however, similarly fails to comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure due to similarly containing numerous instances of unredacted sensitive data,

2 particularly the minor’s name.1 In light of the sensitive data contained in the requested appendix, the court hereby denies the motion to amend. To the extent appellant wishes to file an appendix to her brief, that appendix must comply with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, and moreover must not include the names of the minor’s family members. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.8(b)(1)(B).

Accordingly, for the reasons discussed above, the Court grants appellant’s motion for an extension, denies appellant’s motion to amend her brief, strikes appellant’s principal brief, and orders appellant to file a compliant brief no later than December 27, 2021.

PER CURIAM

Panel Consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Zimmerer and Wilson.

1 Although it is unclear whether the minor’s home address is the same as the address of any other person listed in the appendix, if that address is the same, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.9(a)(3) similarly requires that information to be redacted.