Frank D. Mendicino v. Texas Workforce Commission, Adecco USA Inc., Celestica Inc. and TALX ( 2005 )

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

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NO. 03-05-00055-CV

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Frank D. Mendicino, Appellant

v.

Texas Workforce Commission, Adecco USA Inc., Celestica Inc. and TALX, Appellees

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FROM THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 3 OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY

NO. 04-0360-CC3, HONORABLE DONALD HIGGINBOTHAM, JUDGE PRESIDING

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O R D E R  

PER CURIAM

Appellant Frank D. Mendicino has filed a motion seeking to be granted a FedEx/Kinko's account under which he can make photocopies of various items in the record, with the charges to be billed either to this Court or to appellee the Texas Workforce Commission. Mendicino asserts he is entitled to such an account under the statutes governing appeals from worker's compensation determinations. ⁽¹⁾ See Tex. Lab. Code Ann. § 207.007 (West 1996). Section 207.007 provides that an individual claiming benefits may not be charged a fee by the Commission or a court. Id. § 207.007(a). The prohibition on fees, however, does not imply that the Commission, this Court, or any other State agency has a duty to pay for expenses Mendicino incurs in pursuing his claim. The legislature has carefully set out various funds managed by the Commission and intended to be used "exclusively for the purposes of" the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act. Id. § 203.025 (West 1996); see id. § 203.001-.203 (West 1996 & Supp. 2004-05). Nowhere does the Act provide that a claimant is entitled to have his expenses paid by the State; a claimant is only entitled to have waived "fees" usually assessed against litigants. See, e.g., Tex. R. App. P. app. ("Order Regarding Fees Charged In Civil Cases"); Tex. R. Civ. P. 125-149 ("Costs And Security Therefor"); see also Black's Law Dictionary 614 (6th ed. 1990) ("Fee" defined as "charge fixed by law for services of public officers or for use of a privilege under control of government," "Court fees" defined as "[t]hose amounts paid to court or one of its officers for particular charges that typically are delineated by statute"). We therefore overrule Mendicino's second motion for a FedEx/Kinko's account.

Mendicino also seeks an extension of time to file his brief, asking for twenty-one days from the date this Court rules on his motion for a FedEx/Kinko's account; appellees oppose Mendicino's motion. Mendicino's brief was originally due on April 27, 2005. This Court granted his first two motions for extensions of time, extending the deadline first to May 18, and then to June 8. Mendicino is hereby ORDERED to file his brief no later than July 29, 2005. No further extensions will be granted. If Mendicino fails to timely file his brief, his appeal will be dismissed for want of prosecution.

It is ordered July 8, 2005.

Before Chief Justice Law, Justices Patterson and Puryear

Do Not Publish

1. This is the second motion Mendicino has filed seeking such an account. This Court overruled his first motion on June 1, 2005.