Opinion
09-20-00058-CV
06-09-2022
INFRACON USA, LLC, Appellant v. ON DECK CAPITAL, INC., Appellee
Submitted on September 1, 2021
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Montgomery County, Texas Trial Cause No. 19-06-08701-CV
Before Golemon, C.J., Horton and Johnson, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM.
This appeal arose from a judgment that On Deck Capital, Inc. obtained against Infracon USA, LLC by default. Horacio Lopez Montes, the managing member of Infracon USA, LLC filed a notice to appeal the judgment on Infracon's behalf. After filing the notice, he also filed a brief.
On March 11, 2022, the Clerk notified Montes that the Court's records do not show that Montes is licensed as an attorney and admitted to practice in Texas. The Court ordered the brief that Montes filed on Infracon's behalf stricken from the record. Finally, we advised Montes, as Infracon's managing representative, that unless an attorney with a license and admitted to practice law in Texas appeared on Infracon's behalf and sought to extend the deadline for filing a brief by April 11, 2022, the Court would dismiss the appeal in 09-20-00058-CV for want of prosecution without further notice.
See Kunstoplast of Am., Inc. v. Formosa Plastics Corp., USA, 937 S.W.2d 455, 456 (Tex. 1996) (per curiam) ("Generally a corporation may be represented only by a licensed attorney…."); Sherman v. Boston, 486 S.W.3d 88, 95-96 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, pet. denied) ("Legal entities, such as…. a limited liability company, generally may appear in a district or county court only through a licensed attorney.").
On April 7, Montes sent the Court a letter representing he had asked Lone Star Legal Aid and private attorneys to represent Infracon in Infracon's appeal. He also advised no one would agree to represent Infracon in the appeal. Montes asked that the Court grant Infracon thirty additional days to obtain an attorney to appear and file a brief for Infracon in the appeal. While we did not act on Montes's request, no attorney ever notified the Court that they were appearing as counsel for Infracon USA, LLC in the appeal.
We find that Infracon USA, LLC failed to obtain counsel as required by the Court's letter. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.
See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(c), 43.2(f); see Infracon USA, LLC v. Funding Circle Partners, LP, No. 02-19-00423-CV, 2020 WL 719431, at *2 (Tex. App.- Fort Worth Feb. 13, 2020, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (per curiam) (dismissing appeal where Infracon USA, LLC failed to obtain counsel by a court-ordered deadline); Earth Energy Util. Corp. v. Environmentally Engineered Equip., Inc., No. 05-10-01610-CV, 2012 WL 4845658, at *1 (Tex. App.-Dallas Oct. 10, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing corporation's appeal when it failed to obtain counsel by a court-ordered deadline); MHL Homebuilder LLC v. Dabal/Graphic Res., No. 14-05-00295-CV, 2005 WL 1404475, at *1 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] June 16, 2005, no pet.) (mem. op.) (per curiam) (same).
APPEAL DISMISSED.