Laster v. Thomas, 487 S.W.3d 772

Court-appointed appellate attorney Dorothea Laster submitted five invoices totaling $53,010 in fees and $3,313.47 in expenses for representing Sharon Thomas in appeals from termination-of-parental-rights judgments.
The trial court approved payment of only $7,500; Dallas County issued a $7,500 check which Laster negotiated, writing "All rights reserved" on the back.
Laster complained to the Regional Presiding Judge and the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; the Regional Presiding Judge responded she lacked authority because her role was limited to criminal proceedings under art. 26.05.
Laster filed a mandamus petition in this Court seeking payment; it was denied. She later intervened in the termination case to seek payment; the trial court granted Mother’s motion and dismissed Laster’s intervention.
After final judgment in the termination cases, Laster appealed the dismissal and the trial court’s limited payment, arguing the court abused its discretion by not approving reasonable appellate fees.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether this Court has jurisdiction to review the trial court’s disapproval/partial payment of Laster’s fee requests	Laster: the trial court abused its discretion by approving only $7,500 and dismissing her intervention; she sought appellate review of that action	Trial court/State: payment determinations are governed by the statutory fee-schedule process (art. 26.05/Family Code) and subject to review by the regional presiding judge, not this Court	Court: No jurisdiction; appeal dismissed. Laster’s remedy is a motion for review to the Regional Presiding Judge under art. 26.05(c).
Whether the appellate court should resolve the merits of Laster’s challenge to the intervention dismissal	Laster: sought review of dismissal as part of her accelerated appeal	Trial court/State: merits cannot be reached because jurisdictional prerequisite not satisfied	Court: Declined to address merits of dismissal because it lacked jurisdiction over the fee-dispute appeal.

In re N.L.T., 420 S.W.3d 469 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2014) (underlying termination-of-parental-rights appeals reversed and remanded)
Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440 (Tex. 1993) (initial inquiry is whether an appellate court has jurisdiction)