Summary
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ordered the Harris County District Clerk to file a clerk’s record containing the judgment, relevant post-judgment filings, and notice of appeal. The court stated that it could not determine whether the appeal was timely because the clerk’s record had not yet been filed.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the notice of appeal was timely filed.
- Whether the appellate court could determine the timeliness of the appeal without a clerk's record containing the judgment, post-judgment filings, and notice of appeal.
Key quotations
“We are unable to make that determination because the clerk’s record has not been filed.”
Factual background
The appeal concerned a judgment granting a no-evidence motion for summary judgment and an order denying a motion for reconsideration. The appellate materials did not identify the date of judgment, and the clerk's record had not been filed, preventing the court from determining whether the notice of appeal was timely.
Procedural history
The 215th District Court of Harris County entered a judgment granting appellees' no-evidence motion for summary judgment. Appellant then sought reconsideration, and the notice of appeal purported to appeal the order denying that motion. Because the record did not contain the judgment, post-judgment materials, or notice of appeal, and appellees questioned timeliness, the court ordered the clerk to file the necessary record.
Remand instructions
The Harris County District Clerk was directed to file a clerk's record on or before January 15, 2021, containing the judgment; any request for findings of fact and conclusions of law; any post-judgment motion and the court's order on that motion; and the notice of appeal.