Kevin Cerda v. Chad McWhorter
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 13th District
Date FiledAugust 6, 2026
Docket13-26-00348-CV
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
NUMBER 13-26-00348-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG
KEVIN CERDA, Appellant,
v.
CHAD MCWHORTER, Appellee.
ON APPEAL FROM THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 5
OF NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Tijerina and Justices Silva and Cron
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Silva
On April 30, 2026, appellant Kevin Cerda filed a pro se notice of appeal regarding
a judgment of eviction rendered in trial court cause number 2026-CCV-60317-5 in the
County Court at Law Number 5 of Nueces County, Texas. On May 4, 2026, the Clerk of
the Court notified appellant that his notice of appeal failed to comply with the appellate
rules in several respects and requested appellant to file an amended notice of appeal
within thirty days. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.1, 9.5, 25.1(d) (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (8), 25.1(e).
The Clerk also requested appellant to pay the $205.00 filing fee for the notice of appeal
within ten days. See TEX. R. APP. P. 5 (“A party who is not excused by statute or these
rules from paying costs must pay—at the time an item is presented for filing—whatever
fees are required by statute or Supreme Court order. The appellate court may enforce
this rule by any order that is just.”); TEX. GOV’T CODE § 51.207 (delineating the required
fees and costs in an appellate court).
On June 9, 2026, the Clerk notified appellant that he was delinquent in submitting
the filing fee for the appeal and informed him that the appeal would be dismissed if the
filing fee was not paid within ten days from the date of the notice. See TEX. R. APP. P.
42.3(c). On June 24, 2026, the Clerk again advised appellant that his notice of appeal
failed to comply with the appellate rules, requested correction of the defects, and informed
appellant that the appeal would be dismissed if the defects were not corrected within ten
days. See id. R. 42.3. To date, appellant has not filed a corrected notice of appeal, paid
the filing fee for the notice of appeal, or otherwise responded to the Clerk’s notices.
The Court, having examined and fully considered the foregoing events, is of the
opinion that this appeal should be dismissed. Specifically, this Court has the authority to
dismiss an appeal because the appellant has failed to comply with a requirement of the
appellate rules, a court order, or a notice from the clerk requiring a response or other
action within a specified time. See id. R. 42.3(b), (c); Smith v. DC Civil Constr., LLC, 521
S.W.3d 75, 76 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017, no pet.). Here, appellant has not corrected
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the defects in his notice of appeal, paid the appellate filing fee, or responded to the Clerk’s
directives. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(b), (c).
CLARISSA SILVA
Justice
Delivered and filed on the
6th day of August, 2026.
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