In the Interest of L.D.B. and L.D.B. v. the State of Texas ( 2023 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
__________________
NO. 09-23-00155-CV
__________________
IN THE INTEREST OF L.D.B. AND L.D.B.
__________________________________________________________________
On Appeal from the 279th District Court
Jefferson County, Texas
Trial Cause No. F-213,320-C
__________________________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM OPINION
M.D.B. 1 appealed the trial court’s final order modifying a support order in a
suit affecting the parent-child relationship. M.D.B., who is the appellant, did not pay
the filing fee for the appeal.
On July 10, 2023, we notified the parties that the appellant had not remitted
the filing fee, and we warned the appellant that the appeal would be dismissed
without further notice unless the filing fee was paid by July 5, 2023.
1We refer to the appellant by his initials. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §
109.002(d).
1
On July 19, 2023, the District Clerk notified the Court that the appellant had
failed to pay or to make the arrangements necessary for the District Clerk to prepare
the clerk’s record. Consequently, we notified the parties that the appellant had not
established indigent status, that the clerk’s record had not been filed due to the
appellant’s failure to pay or to arrange to pay the fee required to prepare the clerk’s
record. We also warned the appellant that the appeal would be dismissed for want of
prosecution unless the appellant established that he had made the arrangements
required to pay the fee or that he needed more time to do so. See Tex. R. App. P.
37.3(b).
After the Clerk sent the parties a letter warning of the consequences of a
failure to take the action necessary to file the clerk’s record, the Court did not receive
a response. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation that justifies the appellant’s
failure to pay or make the arrangements needed to pay for the clerk’s record to
support his appeal, we dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution. See Tex. R. App.
P. 37.3(b), 42.3, 43.2(f).
APPEAL DISMISSED.
PER CURIAM
Submitted on August 23, 2023
Opinion Delivered August 24, 2023
Before Horton, Johnson and Wright, JJ.
2