Court Dismissed Appeal By Pro Se Individual Who Could Not Represent An Estate

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In Kankonde v. Mankan, an attorney appealed the entry of an arbitration award on behalf of his clients, a doctor and his practice. No. 08-20-00052-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 7040 (Tex. App.—El Paso August 31, 2020, no pet. history). The attorney then withdrew, and the wife of deceased doctor then filed an appellant’s brief. After providing time to obtain counsel, the court of appeals struck the brief and dismissed the appeal because a non-attorney could not represent an estate:

 Peggy Kankonde, a non-attorney acting pro se, filed an Appellant’s Brief purportedly on behalf of Mutombo Kankonde (deceased) and East-Side Oncology Clinic, P.L.L.C. However, a pro se litigant who is not an attorney cannot file pleadings on behalf of an estate or a corporation; only an attorney may do that. See In re Estate of Maupin, No. 13-17-00555-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 6321, 2019 WL 3331463, at *2 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi July 25, 2019, pet. denied)(mem. op.)(citing cases holding that non-lawyer cannot appear pro se on behalf of an estate as independent executor and that an attorney must represent the interests of the estate); Moore v. Elektro-Mobil Technik GmbH, 874 S.W.2d 324, 327 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1994, writ denied)(corporation must be represented in Texas courts by an attorney on appeal).

In order to prosecute proceedings and make valid filings in this Court, the Estate and the Corporation must be represented by a licensed attorney. We have provided Appellants with the opportunity to obtain counsel. As of this date, Appellants remain unrepresented. Because the Estate and the Corporation have not obtained counsel despite notice from this Court via order that counsel was required, we will dismiss this appeal.

Id.

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