Mauro E. Garza & Everett Holdings, LLC v. Julia Perez

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-23-00271-CV

MAURO E. GARZA AND EVERETT HOLDINGS, LLC, APPELLANTS

V.

JULIA PEREZ, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the 57th District Court Bexar County, Texas1 Trial Court No. 2023-CI-08559, Honorable Tina Torres, Presiding

August 31, 2023 ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND Before PARKER and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Appellant, Mauro E. Garza and Everett Holdings, LLC, appeal from the trial court’s

Order Denying Plea to the Jurisdiction and Motion to Dismiss (TCPA). Appellee, Julia

Perez, has filed a cross-notice of appeal. We remand the appeal for further proceedings.

The appellate record was originally due on July 10, 2023. The clerk’s record has

been filed. However, the court reporter has not filed the reporter’s record or requested

1 Originally appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals, this appeal was transferred to this Court by

the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001. an extension of time to file the record to date. By letter of August 10, 2023, we notified

the reporter that the record was overdue and directed her to advise the Court of the status

of the record by August 21. We have received no communication from the reporter since.

Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for further

proceedings. See TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(c) (“The trial and appellate courts are jointly

responsible for ensuring that the appellate record is timely filed.”); 37.3(a)(2) (requiring

appellate courts to “make whatever order is appropriate to avoid further delay and to

preserve the parties’ rights” when the appellate record is not timely filed). On remand,

the trial court shall determine the following:

(1) what tasks remain to complete the filing of the reporter’s record;

(2) why the reporter has not completed the necessary tasks;

(3) what amount of time is reasonably necessary for the completion of those

tasks; and

(4) whether the reporter can complete the tasks within the time the trial court

finds reasonable.

Should the trial court determine that the reporter will require more than thirty days

to complete, certify, and file the reporter’s record, it shall arrange for a substitute reporter

to do so. The trial court is directed to enter such orders necessary to address the

aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a

supplemental clerk’s record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by October

2, 2023.

2 Should the reporter file the record on or before September 14, 2023, she is directed

to immediately notify the trial court of the filing, in writing, whereupon the trial court shall

not be required to take any further action.

All appellate deadlines are suspended until further order of the Court.

It is so ordered.