In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
No. 06-18-00081-CV
NATHAN CARUSO AND JENNIFER DONNER, Appellants
V.
NATHANIEL YOUNG, Appellee
On Appeal from the 200th District Court
Travis County, Texas
Trial Court No. D-1-GN-15-000993
Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Morriss
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On September 6, 2018, Nathan Caruso and Jennifer Donner, appellants, filed a notice of
appeal in this matter originated in Travis County. 1 The clerk’s record was due to be filed with this
Court on or before October 15, 2018. 2 The clerk’s record has not been filed, and there is no
indication that Caruso and/or Donner have paid or made arrangements for payment of the fees
associated with its preparation. Further, neither appellant has tendered the mandatory $205.00
filing fee associated with the appeal.
“A party who is not excused by statute or these rules from paying costs must pay—at the
time an item is presented for filing—whatever fees are required by statute or Supreme Court order.
The appellate court may enforce this rule by any order that is just.” TEX. R. APP. P. 5. Similarly,
unless otherwise excused, an appellant must either pay or make arrangements for the payment of
the fees related to preparation of the appellate record to ensure that the record is timely filed. TEX.
R. APP. P. 35.3(a)(2), (b)(3), 37.3(b).
By letter dated October 5, 2018, and pursuant to Rule 37.3(b) of the Texas Rules of
Appellate Procedure, appellants were provided, through retained counsel James Sullivan, with
notice of and an opportunity to cure these defects. See TEX. R. APP. P. 37.3(b), 42.3(b), (c). The
clerk’s letter further warned appellants that, if they did not submit an adequate response to the
1
Originally appealed to the Third Court of Appeals, this case was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court
pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (West 2013). The October 5, 2018,
notice to Sullivan was delivered by the clerk’s office of the third Court of Appeals. This notice further advised that if
a reporter’s record was necessary to the appeal and had not already been requested, Sullivan should make a written
request to the court reporter and make payment arrangements for the record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 34.1, 34.6(b)(1).
2
Because this is a summary judgment case, there is no reporter’s record.
2
notice by October 15, 2018, this appeal would be subject to dismissal for want of prosecution.
Appellants have neither paid for nor made appropriate arrangements to pay for the appellate record.
We have received no communication from Sullivan responsive to the October 5 correspondence,
and we have received neither the required filing fee nor the appellate record. Accordingly, this
appeal is ripe for dismissal.
Pursuant to Rules 37.3(b) and 42.3(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, we
dismiss this appeal for want of prosecution.
Josh R. Morriss, III
Chief Justice
Date Submitted: November 8, 2018
Date Decided: November 9, 2018
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