COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON ORDER Appellate case name: Amatullah S. Lanier v. Christopher Stubblefield Appellate case number: 01-19-00816-CV Trial court case number: 2016-60440 Trial court: 308th District Court of Harris County The reporter’s record was due on November 18, 2019. The court reporter issued a notice to this Court that appellant had not paid or made arrangements to pay for the reporter’s record. The clerk’s record was filed on November 15, 2019. This Court issued notice to appellant that the Court might order briefs filed without a reporter’s record unless appellant filed a response by December 20, 2019 showing that payment had been made or that appellant had made financial arrangements for the filing of the reporter’s record. On January 6, 2020, appellant filed a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs asserting that he could not afford to pay the filing fees in this Court and the costs for preparation of the appellate record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(a); TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a). Appellant has also filed three motions for extension of time to file the brief.

Because appellant has filed a statement of inability indicating that he unable to afford payment for the reporter’s record and the reporter’s record has not yet been filed, the appellant’s brief is not yet due. Accordingly, appellant’s motions for extension of time to file the brief are denied as premature.

Rule 20.1(a) requires a Statement of Inability to be filed in the trial court if the appellant contends that he or she is unable to afford fees for preparation of the appellate record. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(a); TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a). Although appellant filed a statement of inability in this Court, the appropriate place for filing the statement of inability to claim inability to afford payment for the record is the trial court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(a); TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a). This Court forwarded the statement of inability to the trial court and a supplemental clerk’s record containing this statement has been filed. The supplemental clerk’s record contained no order by the trial court overruling the statement of inability and thus, we must consider appellant unable to afford payment of the costs of the record and other fees on appeal. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 145(a); TEX. R. APP. P. 20.1(a).

Accordingly, the court reporter is directed to file the reporter’s record at no cost to appellant within 30 days from the date of this order. Appellant’s brief is due within 30 days of the date the reporter’s record is filed.

It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: ___/s/ Peter Kelly_______  Acting individually  Acting for the Court

Date: ___March 17, 2020__