COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 02-15-00100-CV
DONALD W. READ APPELLANT
V.
TIMOTHY VERBUSKI APPELLEE
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FROM THE 48TH DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY
TRIAL COURT NO. 048-275890-14
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MEMORANDUM OPINION 1
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Appellant Donald W. Read filed a pro se notice of appeal attempting to
appeal the denial of his motion to proceed in forma pauperis. On
March 20, 2015, we notified Read of our concern that we might not have
jurisdiction over his appeal because there was no final judgment or order subject
to appeal and that Read’s notice of appeal was premature. See Tex. R. App. P.
1
See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
26.1(a), 27.1(a). We permitted the parties until April 9, 2015, to furnish this court
with a signed copy of the order that Read seeks to appeal. We warned the
parties that if no such order had been signed and furnished to this court by that
date, the appeal would be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. We received an
order from the trial court dated April 6, 2015, denying Read’s motion to proceed
in forma pauperis. 2
The general rule is that an appeal may be taken only from a final judgment.
Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). As an intermediate
appellate court, we lack jurisdiction to review an interlocutory order unless a
statute specifically authorizes an exception to the general rule. Qwest Commc’ns
Corp. v. AT & T Corp., 24 S.W.3d 334, 336 (Tex. 2000). There is no statute
authorizing an appeal from an order ruling on a motion to proceed in forma
pauperis. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(a) (West 2015).
Thus, this court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal because the trial court’s
order is a nonappealable interlocutory order. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal
for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
2
The order states, “The motion is denied because the same is unnecessary
under the current rules of practice. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 145 provides
that a person who is unable to afford cost may proce[ed] in court by filing with the
District Clerk an affidavit of indigency.”
2
/s/ Lee Gabriel
LEE GABRIEL
JUSTICE
PANEL: LIVINGSTON, C.J.; GABRIEL and SUDDERTH, JJ.
DELIVERED: April 30, 2015
3