Order entered July 9, 2019
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-19-00630-CV
TRENT S. GRIFFIN, Appellant
V.
AMERICAN ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee
On Appeal from the 101st Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. DC-13-05893
ORDER
On May 28, 2019, appellant filed a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs
or an appeal bond. The clerk’s record was filed without costs on May 31, 2019. The reporter’s
record is overdue.
Before the Court are the June 26, 2019 letter of Thu Bui, Official Court Reporter of the
101st Judicial District Court, and appellant’s June 28, 2019 motion to compel the court reporter
to file the record. Ms. Bui notifies us in her letter that the record would not be filed because
appellant has not made payment. She acknowledges in her letter that appellant had filed the
statement of inability to pay costs. She states, however, that a hearing was held on June 6, 2019
regarding “his inability to pay for the Reporter’s record.” She further states appellant did not
show up for the hearing and “therefore his indigenous status was not established and the
Reporter’s record will need advance payment before filing with the Court of Appeals.”
A party who files a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs cannot be
required to pay costs except by order of the trial court. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a). Because the
record before this Court contains neither a motion by Ms. Bui to require appellant to prove his
inability to afford costs or a signed order requiring appellant to pay costs, we GRANT the
motion. See id. 145(f)(4), (6). We ORDER Ms. Bui to file the reporter’s record, without
payment of costs, by August 8, 2019.
We DIRECT the Clerk of this Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Staci
Williams, Presiding Judge of the 101st Judicial District Court; Ms. Bui; and all parties.
/s/ BILL WHITEHILL
JUSTICE