in Re Anthony Charles Foster, Jr., Relator

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo ________________________ No. 07-19-00329-CV ________________________ IN RE ANTHONY CHARLES FOSTER, JR., RELATOR Original Proceeding Arising From Proceedings Before the 47th District Court Randall County, Texas Trial Court No. 18,072-A; Honorable Dan L. Schaap, Presiding October 28, 2019 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before QUINN, C.J., and PIRTLE and PARKER, JJ. Relator, Anthony Charles Foster, Jr., a Texas inmate proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel the Honorable Dan L. Schaap to rule on his Motion to Rescind Order to Withdraw Funds. Foster filed a statement of inability to afford payment of court costs with his petition. By letter of October 3, 2019, we directed Foster to pay the required filing fee of $155 or, in lieu thereof, to comply with chapter 14 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code by also filing a separate affidavit relating to previous filings and a certified copy of his inmate trust account statement. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 14.002(a), 14.004 (West 2017) (requiring inmate seeking to proceed without payment of costs to file affidavit of previous filings and trust account statement). We advised Foster that if he did not comply by October 14, this proceeding was subject to dismissal without further notice. To date, Foster has neither paid the filing fee nor filed the required chapter 14 documents. Unless a party is excused from paying a filing fee, the clerk of this court is required to collect filing fees set by statute or the Supreme Court when an item is presented for filing. TEX. R. APP. P. 5, 12.1(b). An inmate who files a declaration of inability to pay costs in an appeal or original proceeding must also comply with chapter 14 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 14.002(a). An inmate’s failure to comply with chapter 14 is grounds for dismissal of the appeal or original proceeding. In re Johnson, No. 07-16-00354-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 11841, at *2 (Tex. App.— Amarillo Nov. 1, 2016, orig. proceeding) (per curiam) (mem. op.). Because Foster has failed to pay the filing fee or comply with chapter 14 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code within the time provided by this court for compliance, we dismiss this original proceeding. Per Curiam 2