Firmus Centro, LLC v. ATX Self-Storage, LLC ( 2023 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-23-00171-CV
FIRMUS CENTRO, LLC, APPELLANT
V.
ATX SELF-STORAGE, LLC, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 419th District Court
Travis County, Texas
Trial Court No. D-1-GN-19-008477, Honorable Catherine A. Mauzy, Presiding
August 16, 2023
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
Before QUINN, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant, Firmus Centro, LLC, appeals from the trial court’s Final Judgment.1 The
appellate record was originally due May 18, 2023. The clerk’s record was filed by this
deadline, but the reporter’s record was not. We subsequently granted the reporter three
extensions to file the reporter’s record due to her caseload. By letter of July 27, 2023, we
1 Originally appealed to the Third 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.
admonished the reporter that no further extensions would be granted and that failure to
file the reporter’s record by August 3 would result in the appeal being abated and the
cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings without further notice. To date,
the reporter’s record has not been filed and the reporter has had no further communication
with this Court.
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 September
15, 2023.
2
Should the reporter file the record on or before August 30, 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.
It is so ordered.
Per Curiam
3