In re B.R.M. and M.M.M. - Suit Affecting Parent-Child Relationship Dismissed
Summary
The Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District, dismissed an appeal filed by Jordan McEwen for want of jurisdiction. The court found that McEwen was not the proper party to challenge the trial court's order regarding the preparation of a reporter's record without payment of costs.
What changed
The Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District, has dismissed an appeal filed by Jordan McEwen in the case of In the Interest of B.R.M. and M.M.M., Children v. the State of Texas. The dismissal is for want of jurisdiction, as the court determined that McEwen was not the proper party to appeal the trial court's order concerning the preparation of a reporter's record without payment of costs. According to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145(g)(1), only the declarant (in this case, Swanna Flores) may challenge such an order.
This ruling means that McEwen's appeal is terminated. Swanna Flores's original appeal will continue under its own appellate cause number. This decision reinforces the procedural rules regarding who can appeal orders related to the inability to afford court costs, emphasizing that only the party seeking such relief can challenge adverse decisions on that specific matter.
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March 4, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
In the Interest of B.R.M. and M.M.M., Children v. the State of Texas
Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District (Amarillo)
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: 07-26-00149-CV
- Nature of Suit: Suit affecting parent child relationship
Disposition: Dismissed-Want of Jurisdiction
Disposition
Dismissed-Want of Jurisdiction
Lead Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-25-00175-CV
No. 07-26-00149-CV
IN THE INTEREST OF B.R.M. AND M.M.M., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the 140th District Court
Lubbock County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2016-522,264, Honorable Douglas H. Freitag, Presiding
March 4, 2026
ORDER OF SEVERANCE AND DISMISSAL
Before PARKER, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant, Swanna Flores, appeals from the trial court’s Order in Suit Affecting the
Parent-Child Relationship. This Court previously abated and remanded the appeal for a
determination of whether Flores was entitled to preparation of the reporter’s record
without payment of costs pursuant to Rule of Civil Procedure 145. Following a hearing
on remand, the trial court entered Findings and Orders Upon Remand from Court of
Appeals Concerning Request for Free Reporter’s Record, finding that Flores was entitled
to a free reporter’s record and directing the reporter to prepare it.
Appellee, Jordan McEwen, subsequently filed a notice of appeal seeking to
challenge the trial court’s Findings and Orders Upon Remand from Court of Appeals
Concerning Request for Free Reporter’s Record. That order, however, is not appealable
by McEwen. Rule of Civil Procedure 145(g)(1) expressly states that “[o]nly the declarant
may challenge an order issued by the trial court under this rule.” Because Flores filed the
Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, she is the “declarant” and the
only party that may appeal the trial court’s order concerning payment of costs. See TEX.
R. CIV. P. 145(b), (g)(1). By letter of February 5, 2026, we directed McEwen to file a
written response, no later than February 17, 2026, establishing this Court’s jurisdiction
over his purported appeal. McEwen has not responded to the Court’s directive to date.
Because we lack jurisdiction to review the trial court’s order granting Flores relief
under Rule of Civil Procedure 145, we dismiss McEwen’s appeal for want of jurisdiction.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). Accordingly, we sever McEwen’s appeal into cause number
07-26-00149-CV, and dismiss it.
Flores’s appeal shall continue to disposition under appellate cause number 07-25-
00175-CV.
It is so ordered.
Per Curiam
2
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