Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Huimin Wang, Bingxin Du, and the Estate of Guibao Du appealed a Lubbock County district court order granting Wan Da Inc., doing business as China Star Asian Buffet, a no-evidence summary judgment.
The clerk’s record was due September 8, 2026, but was not filed because the appellants had not arranged payment. The court of appeals directed them to pay by September 24 and warned that failure to do so could result in dismissal for want of prosecution. The appellants neither arranged payment nor responded to explain the omission, and they did not elect to file an appendix instead of a clerk’s record under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 34.5a.
The Court’s Holding
The Seventh Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for want of prosecution under Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 37.3(b) and 42.3(b).
The court did not review the merits of the no-evidence summary judgment. Its disposition rested solely on the appellants’ failure to secure the clerk’s record or otherwise respond after receiving notice and an opportunity to cure the omission.
Key Takeaways
- Texas appellate courts may dismiss an appeal when an appellant fails to pay for the clerk’s record after receiving notice and an opportunity to cure.
- An appellant may need to respond to a missing-record notice even if intending to use an appendix under Rule 34.5a.
- The dismissal left the trial court’s no-evidence summary judgment unreviewed on the merits.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that preserving appellate review requires timely attention to record-filing obligations. A party challenging summary judgment can lose the opportunity for merits review by failing to pay for the clerk’s record, explain the omission, or invoke an available alternative procedure.