Case Information
*1 S HERRY R ADACK C HRISTOPHER A. P RINE C HIEF J USTICE C LERK OF THE C OURT T ERRY J ENNINGS J ANET W ILLIAMS E VELYN K EYES C HIEF S TAFF TTORNEY L AURA C ARTER H IGLEY Court of Appeals J ANE B LAND P HONE : 713-274-2700 M ICHAEL M ASSENGALE F AX : 713-755-8131 First District H ARVEY B ROWN www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa.aspx R EBECA H UDDLE 301 Fannin Street R USSELL L LOYD J USTICES Houston, Texas 77002-2066
May 7, 2015 D. Craig Olivier William Hand Olivier & Mundy, LLP Stevenson & Murray 1414 West Clay St Weslayan Tower Ste750 Houston, TX 77019 24 Greenway Plaza * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * Houston, TX 77046
* DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * Lauren Varnado
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. J. Christopher Champion 1301 McKinney St Ste 5100 Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Houston, TX 77010-3095 1301 McKinney, Ste. 5100 * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * Houston, TX 77010
* DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * Robert S. Godlewski
Law Offices of Robert S. Godlewski John W. Stevenson Jr.
3950 Braxton Ste 100 Stevenson & Murray Houston, TX 77063 Weslayan Tower, Ste 750 * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * 24 Greenway Plz
Houston, TX 77046-2416 William D. Wood * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
1301 McKinney, St Ste 5100 Amy Douthitt Maddux Houston, TX 77010-3095 Shipley, Snell, Montgomery, L.L.P. * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * 712 Main St, Ste 1400
Houston, TX 77002-3201 * DELIVERED VIA E-MAIL * RE: Court of Appeals Number: 01-15-00424-CV
Trial Court Case Number: 2007-67830 Style: Syrian-America Oil Corporation, S.A. (hereinafter SAMOCO) v. Pecten Orient
Company f/k/a Pecten Ash Sham f/k/a Pecten Syria Petroleum Company GENERAL INFORMATION
On May 06, 2015 , a letter of assignment from the 190th District Court trial-court clerk and a copy of the notice of appeal filed by Pecten Orient Company f/k/a Pecten Ash Sham f/k/a Pecten Syria Petroleum Company in the trial court was received and docketed as Cause *2 Number 01-15-00424-CV . This Notice contains information about some of the rules and procedures that govern prosecution of an appeal pending before the First Court of Appeals.
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.6 requires parties and counsel to communicate about a pending appeal only through the Clerk’s office and they may not communicate with either the justices or their staff about a case. It is also improper to send a document to the Court about an appeal unless a copy of it is served on all other parties to the appeal at the same time. See P. 9.5(d), (e).
found at http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ebriefs/RedactionGuidelines.pdf.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPELLATE RECORD
This letter is NOTICE to the appellant that the Court may dismiss an appeal for want of prosecution, if the clerk’s record is not filed and it is appellant’s fault. See TEX. R. APP. P. 37.3(b); 42.3. This letter is also NOTICE to the appellant that if it is appellant’s fault that the reporter’s record is not filed, the Court may decide the appeal on those issues or points that do not require a reporter’s record for a decision. TEX. R. APP. P. 37.3(c). Any motion related to informalities in the manner of bringing this appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the appellate record is filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(a).
Unless an appellant has established indigence under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 20.1, the trial-court clerk and court reporter are not required to file the clerk’s and reporter’s records until appellant has paid the required fees to prepare and certify the records, or has made satisfactory arrangements to pay the fees. TEX. R. APP. P. 35.3(a)(2), (b)(3).
From information currently available, it appears that the trial court signed the final judgment or other appealable order on February 4, 2015. Because the notice of appeal indicates that a post-judgment motion was filed, unless the Court receives information to the contrary, the trial court clerk is due to file the clerk’s record and the court reporter is due to file the reporter’s record on or before June 04, 2015 .
The appellant and/or appellee should inform the Court as soon as possible if (1) this appeal is accelerated or (2) if there is disagreement about (a) the date the trial court signed the final judgment or appealable order or (b) whether a post-judgment motion or request for findings of fact and conclusions of law was timely filed in the trial court.
It is mandatory that both the clerk’s record and the reporter’s record be filed electronically. Both the trial-court clerk and the court reporter are asked to complete the information sheet on the “Forms” page of the Court’s website, http://www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa/practice-before-the-court/forms.aspx, and file it with the Court within ten (10) days of the date of this Notice. The parties do not need to file a motion to extend time to file either the clerk’s record or the reporter’s record. See Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 34.5(b)(1), (c)(2), 35.3(c), and 35.6(b)(1) and Appendix C of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure for electronic filing related to preparation of the appellate record.
Parties are encouraged to work together and with the trial court clerk and court reporter to properly designate all necessary items and portions of the testimony to be included in the initial records. The Court generally will not grant a motion to extend time to file a brief because a party requests to supplement the record with an item or portion of the testimony that the party did not timely designate for inclusion in the initial clerk’s record or reporter’s record. P. 10.5(b), 34.5(c)(1), 34.6(d), 38.6(d).
INFORMATION ABOUT FILING DOCUMENTS
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.3 controls the number of paper copies and documents filed in paper form. All documents must include a certificate of service. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.5(d), (e). All civil motions must include a certificate of conference, TEX. R. APP. P. 10.1(a)(5), and require a $10 filing fee, unless the movant has established indigence or is exempt from the advance payment of filing fees, e.g., the State or a political subdivision of the State. TEX. R. APP. P. 5; FEES CIV. CASES B (3); Op. Tex Att’y Gen. No. DM-459 (1997). The Court treats a civil motion requesting multiple types of relief as separate motions and requires a separate $10 filing fee for each motion.
INFORMATION ABOUT BRIEFS
found at http://www.txcourts.gov/media/124902/redactionguidelines.pdf.
INFORMATION ABOUT ATTORNEYS APPEARING BEFORE THE COURT Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 6 governs matters related to an attorney’s representation of a party before the Court. Attorneys must promptly notify the Clerk’s office of any change of address or change in designation of the lead counsel for a party. A nonresident attorney who is not a member of the State Bar of Texas must satisfy the requirements for *4 participation in a Texas legal matter found on the Board of Law Examiners’ website http://www.ble.state.tx.us.
INFORMATION ABOUT NOTICES TO PARTIES
Notice must be sent to all parties of any judgment, mandate, or order issued. Tex. R. App. P. 12.6. If a party is represented by an attorney, notice will be sent to the party’s lead counsel. T P. 9.5(b). Information available to the public about a case may be found on the “Case Information” page of the Court’s website. Parties may sign up for e-mail notices about activity in their case on the “CaseMail” page of the website.
STANDARDS OF APPELLATE CONDUCT
The Court follows the Standards of Appellate Conduct adopted by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals. All attorneys and parties—including pro se litigants— are expected to fully comply with these standards, as well as all applicable provisions of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Code of Judicial Conduct. See the “Court Rules” page, “Other Rules Governing Attorneys” of the Texas Supreme Court’s website, http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme.aspx, or call and ask that a copy be mailed to you.
Should you have questions at any time throughout the appellate process of your case, please do not hesitate to call the Clerk's office at 713-274-2700.
Sincerely,
Christopher A. Prine, Clerk of the Court