Background
Christopher Sermons, proceeding without counsel, appealed from a judgment of the Denton County Court at Law No. 2. The appeal was originally filed in the Second Court of Appeals and transferred to the Seventh Court of Appeals under the Texas Supreme Court’s docket-equalization authority.
Sermons’s appellate brief was due August 12, 2026, but he did not file it. In an August 19 letter, the court notified him that it could dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution, without further notice, unless it received a brief by August 31. As of the date of the opinion, Sermons had neither filed a brief nor communicated further with the court.
The Court’s Holding
The Seventh Court of Appeals dismissed Sermons’s appeal for want of prosecution. The court relied on Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 38.8(a)(1) and 42.3(b), which permit dismissal when an appellant fails to timely file a brief and fails to prosecute the appeal.
The memorandum opinion did not address the merits of Sermons’s appeal or describe the substance of the trial court’s judgment. Its disposition rested solely on Sermons’s failure to submit an appellate brief after the court gave him an additional deadline.
Key Takeaways
- An appellant’s failure to file a timely brief can result in dismissal for want of prosecution.
- The court warned Sermons by letter and set an additional deadline before dismissing the appeal.
- The dismissal was procedural; the appellate court did not reach the merits of the underlying dispute.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that self-represented appellants must comply with appellate briefing deadlines. When an appellant does not file a brief after the court provides an additional deadline, Texas appellate rules permit dismissal without consideration of the appeal’s merits.