Summary
The Tenth Court of Appeals of Texas dismissed Robert Bonner’s appeal from a trial court determination declaring him a vexatious litigant. The court concluded that Bonner had not shown he obtained the required pre-filing permission from the local administrative judge and also determined that the appeal was untimely. The opinion was issued as a memorandum opinion per curiam.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the court of appeals could consider Bonner's pro se appeal without proof that he obtained a prefiling order permitting the appeal under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 11.103.
- Whether Bonner's notice of appeal was timely under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1.
Holdings
- A vexatious litigant subject to a prefiling order may not file a pro se appeal unless the litigant obtains permission from the appropriate local administrative judge, and the appeal must be dismissed when the record contains no proof of that permission.
- The appeal was also untimely because Bonner filed his notice of appeal on June 13, 2014, almost two years after the trial court's September 10, 2012 determination, and the record did not adequately establish a timely earlier filing.
Key quotations
“Except as provided by Subsection (d), a clerk of a court may not file a litigation, original proceeding, appeal, or other claim presented, pro se, by a vexatious litigant subject to a pre[-]filing order under Section 11.101 unless the litigant obtains an order from the appropriate local administrative judge described by Section 11.102(a) permitting the filing.” (at 2)
“Because appellant has not provided proof that he obtained a pre-filing order from the local administrative judge granting permission to file this appeal, we dismiss appellant’s appeal in this matter.” (at 2)
Factual background
The trial court determined that Robert Bonner was a vexatious litigant and subjected him to a prefiling injunction. The injunction required him to obtain permission from the appropriate local administrative judge before filing new litigation pro se, including an appeal. Bonner filed the present notice of appeal nearly two years after the vexatious-litigant determination and did not provide proof that he obtained the required permission.
Procedural history
The 413th District Court of Johnson County declared Bonner a vexatious litigant on September 10, 2012 and enjoined him from filing new litigation pro se in Texas without permission. Bonner filed a notice of appeal on June 13, 2014. After the court of appeals notified him that the appeal appeared untimely and failed to comply with the vexatious-litigant and inmate-litigation statutes, Bonner responded that the county clerk had refused to file an earlier notice of appeal. The court dismissed the appeal for lack of proof of the required prefiling order and also concluded that the appeal was untimely.