NUMBER 13-14-00051-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
____________________________________________________________
Blanca Petty, Appellant,
v.
John K. Petty, Appellee.
____________________________________________________________
On appeal from the 329th District Court
of Wharton County, Texas.
____________________________________________________________
ORDER
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Longoria
Order Per Curiam
Appellant, Blanca Petty, filed an affidavit of indigence in the trial court. A contest to
the affidavit was filed, and on February 4, 2014, the trial court conducted a hearing on the
contest to appellant’s indigence affidavit. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court
sustained the contest and denied appellant’s request for indigence status. Appellant filed
her motion with this Court seeking review of the indigence issue on February 17, 2014, which
we denied as untimely by our order of March 11, 2014. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(j)(2). On
March 17, 2014, appellant filed a motion to reconsider our ruling in that order.
Upon further review and consideration of the record, the Court is of the opinion that
appellant's motion for reconsideration should be GRANTED. Although the trial court issued
an initial order sustaining the contest to appellant's application on February 4, 2014, it
appears from further review of the record that the trial court's final order sustaining the
contest was entered on February 10, 2014. Thus, appellant's February 17, 2014 motion
seeking review of the trial court's order was timely. See id. (providing that "if the trial court
sustains a contest, the party claiming indigence may seek review of the court’s order by
filing, within ten days of the order sustaining the contest, a motion with the appellate court
challenging the order without advance payment"). That motion was then GRANTED by this
Court by operation of law on February 27, 2014. See id. at R. 20.1(j)(4) ("If the appellate
court does not deny the motion within 10 days after it is filed, the motion is granted by
operation of law.").
The Court, having fully examined and considered the available appellate record
regarding the indigence matter, is of the opinion that appellant has established her
indigence. Appellant is therefore entitled to an appellate record without prepayment. See
id. at R. 20.1(k).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
PER CURIAM
Delivered and filed the
2nd day of April, 2014.
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