Steve Van Horne v. Texas Health and Human Services

Order Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed December 23, 2025.

In The Fifteenth Court of Appeals NO. 15-25-00211-CV

STEVE VAN HORNE, Appellant V. TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee On Appeal from the 459th District Court Travis County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. D-1-GN-25-004625

MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellant Steve Van Horne has filed a motion challenging the trial court’s order, signed on August 14, 2025, finding him not indigent and requiring him to pay court costs in the underlying matter. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 145(g). The order contains detailed findings and conclusions, and a reporter’s record of the hearing on the indigency contest has been filed by the court reporter. Id. R. 145(f).

To establish his indigency, Van Horne was required to show “by a preponderance of the evidence that [he] would be unable to pay the costs, or a part thereof, or give security therefore, if [he] really wanted to and made a good-faith effort to do so[.]” Higgins v. Randall Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, 257 S.W.3d 684, 686 (Tex. 2008). Having reviewed the motion and the record we cannot conclude that that the trial court’s order constitutes an abuse of its discretion. See Strickland v. iHeartMedia, Inc., 668 S.W.3d 34, 37 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2022, no pet.) (reviewing trial court’s order sustaining contest to indigency under abuse-of- discretion standard). Accordingly, we deny the motion and affirm the trial court’s order.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Brister and Justices Field and Farris.