Reported / Citable
Background
Brett Mundy, Jumping Jack, LLC, and McCollum-Savell Holdings, LLC brought an interlocutory appeal from an amended temporary injunction entered by the 22nd District Court in Hays County. Donna Savell and Matthew McCollum were the appellees.
Before the appeal was transferred to the Eighth Court of Appeals, the Third Court of Appeals notified the appellants on April 9, 2026, that they needed to pay appellate filing fees or establish a right to proceed without paying costs by April 20. The appellants did neither. The same day, the clerk also instructed them to arrange for the clerk’s record; the trial-court clerk later reported that no record had been requested or paid for.
The Court’s Holding
The Eighth Court of Appeals dismissed the interlocutory appeal. It held that the appellants had neither paid the required filing fees nor established entitlement to proceed without payment of costs.
The court also noted that the appellants failed to arrange for preparation and filing of the clerk’s record, and no clerk’s record had been filed. The dismissal rested on Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 5, 37.3(b), and 42.3(c).
Key Takeaways
- Appellate filing fees are due when the notice of appeal is presented for filing unless the appellant establishes a right to proceed without costs.
- An appeal may be dismissed when an appellant disregards notice to pay fees.
- An appellant must also make arrangements for the clerk’s record; failing to do so can independently support dismissal.
Why It Matters
The decision is a straightforward reminder that an interlocutory appeal does not excuse compliance with appellate payment and record-preparation requirements. Even where the appeal challenges temporary injunctive relief, failure to cure these procedural defaults can end the appeal without review of the injunction’s merits.