Background
Kimberly Jeanne Ashley appealed from a final decree of divorce entered in Trial Cause Number 21DC-CV-01110 in the 75th District Court of Liberty County, Texas. Lyndell Jo Ashley was the appellee. Kimberly Ashley filed her notice of appeal on January 12, 2026. According to the Ninth Court of Appeals’ memorandum opinion, she perfected the appeal but then failed to file an appellant’s brief.
On August 20, 2026, the clerk of the Ninth Court of Appeals notified the parties that Ashley had not filed a brief. The clerk advised that the appeal would be submitted without briefs unless, by Monday, August 31, 2026, Ashley filed both a brief and a motion to extend the briefing deadline. The court also warned Ashley that submitting the appeal without briefs could result in dismissal for want of prosecution.
The clerk issued another notice on September 29, 2026. That notice informed the parties that the appeal would be submitted to the court on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, without briefs and without oral argument. The opinion identifies Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 39.8 in connection with that submission procedure. Ashley still did not file a brief assigning error to any of the trial court’s rulings.
The Court’s Holding
The court dismissed the appeal for want of prosecution. Its stated reason was narrow and procedural: Ashley had not filed a brief in her appeal assigning any error to any of the trial court’s rulings. The court cited Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 38.8(a)(1), 42.3(b), and 43.2(f), together with its earlier citation to Rule 39.8 concerning submission without briefs.
The opinion does not review the divorce decree, identify any underlying trial-court ruling as correct or incorrect, or resolve a substantive dispute between the parties. The dismissal followed the appellant’s continued failure to brief after the August warning and the September submission notice. The court’s disposition was “APPEAL DISMISSED.”
The memorandum opinion was issued per curiam. It states that the appeal was submitted on October 20, 2026, and that the opinion was delivered on November 5, 2026. The official opinion’s Before line identifies Golemon, C.J., and Johnson and Chambers, JJ.
Key Takeaways
- The Ninth Court of Appeals dismissed Kimberly Jeanne Ashley’s appeal for want of prosecution because she filed no brief assigning error to the trial court’s rulings.
- Before dismissal, the clerk gave an August 20, 2026 notice, an August 31 deadline for filing a brief and extension motion, and an express warning that submission without briefs could lead to dismissal.
- A September 29, 2026 notice set submission for October 20, 2026, without briefs and without oral argument.
- The court cited Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 38.8(a)(1), 39.8, 42.3(b), and 43.2(f); it did not decide the merits of the final divorce decree.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the consequence stated in the court’s own notices: an appellant who perfects an appeal but does not file a brief may have the appeal submitted without briefs and dismissed for want of prosecution. The opinion ties that result to the appellant’s failure to assign error through a brief after receiving notice and an opportunity to seek more time.
For attorneys, the ruling is a procedural disposition rather than authority on the substantive standards governing divorce decrees. It does not announce that every appellate defect requires dismissal, nor does it supply a merits analysis of any trial-court ruling. Its practical point is confined to the documented sequence here: no appellant’s brief, advance notice of the briefing deficiency and possible dismissal, a later notice of submission without briefs or oral argument, and continued noncompliance.