John Hill & Faye H. Hill v. Lakes of Fondren Southwest ( 2017 )

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON ORDER Appellate case name: John Hill & Faye H. Hill v. Lakes of Fondren Southwest Appellate case number: 01-16-00991-CV Trial court case number: 2016-43324 Trial court: 151st District Court of Harris County Appellants have not filed a docketing statement in this case. Accordingly, we direct appellants to complete the form docketing statement attached to this order, and file it in this court within 10 days of the date of this order. Also attached to this order is a pamphlet describing the Houston Bar Association Pro Bono Program. To be considered for this program, please complete Section XIV of the docketing statement. It is so ORDERED. Judge’s signature: _/s/ Michael Massengale  Acting individually  Acting for the Court Date: May 25, 2017 P RO BONO P ROGRAM F OR C IVIL APPEALS SPONSORED AND ADMINISTERED BY T HE P RO BONO C OMMITTEES FOR T HE STATE BAR OF T EXAS APPELLATE SECTION AND T HE H OUSTON BAR ASSOCIATION APPELLATE SECTION IN THE C OURT OF APPEALS FOR THE F IRST DISTRICT OF T EXAS DECEMBER 2009 I. PRO BONO PROGRAM program. Even if you had paid counsel in The State Bar of Texas Appellate the trial court, you can indicate your interest Section Pro Bono Committee and the in seeking a pro bono attorney through this Houston Bar Association’s Appellate Program if you can no longer afford an Practice Section Pro Bono Committee (“Pro attorney to represent you on appeal. Bono Committee”) are conducting a Pro PLEASE NOTE: There is no guarantee Bono Program to place a limited number of that the Pro Bono Committee will select civil appeals with appellate counsel who will your case for inclusion in the Program and represent the appellant before the First that pro bono counsel can be found to Court. The goal of the program is to match represent you. Accordingly, you should not clients who are financially unable to obtain forego seeking other counsel to represent legal representation with volunteer lawyers you in this proceeding. who agree to serve without expectation of A. The Selection Process compensation for their service. The Docketing Statement is one of The Pro Bono Program is the first documents that you file when you administered completely by the Pro Bono start an appeal. If you would like for your Program Committee. The First Court of case to be considered for inclusion in the Pro Appeals has no direct role in screening or Bono Program, Section X of the First Court selecting cases for inclusion in the Program. of Appeals’ Docketing Statement includes a If you lack the financial means to brief description of the Program along with pay for an appellate attorney and indicate a list of questions for you to answer. After your desire to be included in the Pro Bono you complete the Docketing Statement and Program, as explained in this Pamphlet, you indicate interest in your case being may be considered for participation in the considered for possible inclusion in the 1 Program, a copy of your Docketing an attempt to find an appellate lawyer to Statement will be forwarded to the Pro Bono take your case. Committee for screening. To assist the The Pro Bono Committee screens screening process, it is very important that and selects civil cases for inclusion in the you fill out the Docketing Statement Program based upon a number of carefully and completely so that the Pro discretionary criteria, including the financial Bono Committee will have as much means of the appellant. The committee uses information as possible when considering 200% of U.S. Poverty Guidelines as a your appeal. benchmark for determining whether an By filling out the request for appellant qualifies for free legal services. consideration, you are agreeing that These guidelines are published by the U.S. members of the Pro Bono Committee can Department of Health and Human Services, 1 contact the counsel of record in the trial and the following chart sets forth the court to ask for clarification of questions or relevant numbers: issues as to your case. These conversations Persons in 200% of Family or Federal Poverty will be kept confidential to the extent Household Guidelines 1 $19,600.00 permitted by law and used solely for 2 $26,400.00 3 $33,200.00 purposes of the committee’s selection 4 $40,000.00 5 $46,800.00 process. You are also authorizing the Pro 6 $53,600.00 7 $60,400.00 Bono Committee to transmit basic, publicly 8 $67,200.00 available, facts about your case via the Internet to its pool of volunteer lawyers in 1 Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 15, January 24, 2006, pp. 3848-3849, available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/06poverty.shtml. 2 If you have not already submitted an receive a letter from the Committee within affidavit of indigence in the trial court, you approximately 30-40 days of submitting may be asked to submit financial your Docketing Statement notifying you of information as a condition of your the match. participation in the Pro Bono Program. B. The Attorneys Although your ability to pay for legal The Pro Bono Committee has counsel is not the only factor the Pro Bono undertaken a substantial recruiting effort to Committee evaluates for participation in the enlist pro bono appellate lawyers willing to Pro Bono Program, it is nonetheless a volunteer their time to take on cases selected significant factor in the committee’s for inclusion in the Program, as well as other decision-making process. specialty pro bono programs that the There are a number of other factors committee is sponsoring. We have inquired that the Pro Bono Committee considers in to find out the particular areas of interest and deciding whether to place an appeal in the expertise of our volunteers so that we can be Program, including the number of appeals in a position to make appropriate matches currently in the program, the number of between cases and volunteer attorneys available volunteer lawyers, and the issues according to their areas of interest, presented. Based upon a review of these experience, and availability. and other factors, the Pro Bono Committee C. Placement of Cases in the Program makes a recommendation for each case. If When an appeal is identified by the the Committee recommends that a case be Pro Bono Committee as a candidate for the included in the Program and a volunteer Program, the committee provides limited lawyer agrees to take the case, you will information regarding the case, such as the 3 nature of the case, issues on appeal, the representation of you in the appeal without status of appellate proceedings, and any charging legal fees. impending deadlines, and solicits volunteers D. Representation in the Appeal to take the case. Based upon the responses, If a volunteer lawyer is matched with the Pro Bono Committee will make an your case through the Program, that lawyer appropriate match. will be your lawyer in handling the appeal If your case is chosen and counsel is on your behalf in the First Court of Appeals located, the Committee will send you a letter from that point forward. He or she will advising you of the match, providing contact prepare the briefs and any necessary motions information for your pro bono attorney and and present oral argument to the Court of advising you that you have 14 days to object Appeals if argument is ordered. if you do not want this attorney to represent The scope of the representation is you. If you do object, you need simply limited to the appeal in the First Court of notify the Committee in writing. You need Appeals and terminates once those not indicate your reasons for objecting, but proceedings are concluded—typically after there is, of course, no guarantee that the the opinion issues, or the Court rules on any Committee will be able to find replacement timely filed motions for rehearing. If you counsel. are unsuccessful in the First Court of Assuming you do not object to the Appeals, but desire to go forward to the volunteer attorney within 14 days of Texas Supreme Court, you will need to receiving the Committee’s letter, that make other arrangements for representation attorney will undertake further in that court, unless your Pro Bono counsel agrees in writing to undertake the further 4 representation. Please be advised that the Pro Bono Committee has a program with the Texas Supreme Court, although the procedures and requirements for that program necessarily differ from this one. II. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Additional information about the pro bono appellate programs is available at the State Bar of Texas Appellate Pro Bono website, http://www.tex- app.org/probono.php and the Houston Bar Association Appellate Section website, http://www.hba.org/folder-sections/sec- apellate.htm. 5