America Sammour v. Allstate Insurance and Attorney General Protect ( 2021 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
No. 06-21-00043-CV
AMERICA SAMMOUR, Appellant
V.
ALLSTATE INSURANCE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL PROTECT, Appellees
On Appeal from the 431st District Court
Denton County, Texas
Trial Court No. 20-6762-431
Before Morriss, C.J., Burgess and Stevens, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Burgess
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant America Sammour filed a timely pro se notice of appeal on April 12, 2021.1
The clerk’s record was filed on June 4, 2021. The original deadline for Sammour’s appellate
brief was July 5, 2021. At Sammour’s request, this Court extended the deadline for filing his
appellate brief until August 5, 2021. This Court further extended the deadline for filing
Sammour’s appellate brief, again at his request, until September 7, 2021.
On September 13, 2021, we received a document that purported to be Sammour’s
appellate brief. On that same date, we sent Sammour a letter explaining that, for numerous
reasons, the document we received was inadequate to serve as a brief because it did not meet the
requirements of Rule 38.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1.
In our letter, we provided Sammour with a detailed explanation of why the document he
provided to this Court failed to comply with Rule 38.1. We informed Sammour that if he did not
file a brief that complied with Rule 38.1 by October 13, 2021, this appeal would be subject to
dismissal for want of prosecution. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(a).
On October 4, 2021, Sammour provided this Court with a second document that we
construed as a revised brief. That document also failed to comply with the requirements of Rule
1
Originally appealed to the Second Court of Appeals, this case was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme
Court pursuant to Section 73.001 of the Texas Government Code. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001. We are
unaware of any conflict between precedent of the Second Court of Appeals and that of this Court on any relevant
issue. See TEX. R. APP. P. 41.3.
2
38.1. Because Sammour has failed to provide this Court with a brief meeting the requirements of
Rule 38.1, Sammour’s appeal is ripe for dismissal.2
Pursuant to Rules 38.8 and 42.3 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, we dismiss
this appeal for want of prosecution. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8, 42.3; see also Running v. City of
Athens, No. 12-18-00047-CV, 2018 WL 2326775, at *1 (Tex. App.—Tyler, May 23, 2018, no
pet.) (mem. op.).
Ralph K. Burgess
Justice
Date Submitted: October 19, 2021
Date Decided: October 20, 2021
2
Having provided Sammour with ample opportunity to file a proper brief in this matter, we are disinclined to provide
Sammour with further direction on how to file a brief that complies with Rule 38.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate
Procedure. Moreover, we do not have the opposing party’s brief and, therefore, cannot affirm upon that brief
without examining the record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(a)(3).
3