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In re B.R.M. and M.M.M. - Suit Affecting Parent-Child Relationship Dismissed

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Filed March 4th, 2026
Detected March 5th, 2026
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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.

Source document (simplified)

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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)

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

Source

Analysis generated by AI. Source diff and links are from the original.

Classification

Agency
Federal and State Courts
Filed
March 4th, 2026
Instrument
Enforcement
Legal weight
Binding
Stage
Final
Change scope
Minor

Who this affects

Applies to
Courts Legal professionals
Geographic scope
State (Texas)

Taxonomy

Primary area
Judicial Administration
Operational domain
Legal
Topics
Family Law Civil Procedure

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