* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, e xcept under the

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and col lateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judg ments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and condi tions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.

** Honorable Ruggero J. Aldisert, Senior Circuit Judge , United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, sitting by design ation.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Filed 9/16/96 FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

PAUL HENRY HORSTMANN; BERTHA BEATRICE HORSTMANN,

Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v. DONA ANA SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION; SUNWEST BANK OF LAS CRUCES; JOHN D. PHILLIPS, Defendants-Appellees. No. 95-2271 (D.C. No. CIV-93-1375-LH)

(D. N.M.)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before TACHA, ALDISERT, ** and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, th is panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materiallyassist the determination of-2-

this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. There fore, appellants’ request for oral argument is denied, an d the case is ordered submitted without oral argument. Appellants Paul Henry Horstmann and Bertha Beatrice Horstmann appeal the dismissal of their district court appeal from two bankruptcy court orders. The district court, determining that appellants’ notice of appeal was untimely pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002(a), dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We review the district court’s dismissal for lack o f jurisdiction de novo. Weston v. Mann (In re Weston) , 18 F.3d 860, 862 (10th Cir. 1994). An appellate court has no jurisdiction absent a timely filed not ice of appeal. Id. Appellants filed a notice of appeal to federal dist rict court on November 22, 1993, challenging two bankruptcy courtorders issued by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mex ico. The first order, entered December 23, 1992, granted a motion by Ticor Title Insurance Company, assignee of appellee Dona Ana Savings and Loan Association, to release funds from appellants’ bankruptcy estate in recognition of a s tate court judgment finding the funds did not belong to appellants. The second ord er, entered November 10, 1993, denied appellants’ seventh motion to reconsid er and enjoined them from filing any further motions to reconsider.1 Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 8002(a) provid es that a notice of

appeal from a bankruptcy court order shall be filed within ten days of the date of entry of the order. -3- Appellees filed motions to dismiss for lack of juri sdiction, contending that pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8002(a), appellants’ notice of appeal was untimely. 1 On September 1, 1995, the district court granted ap pellees’ motion, finding that, because appellants’ notice of appeal was filed outs ide the ten-day limit of Rule 8002(a), the court was without jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. Appellants filed a motion to reconsider. In an ord er issued October 10, 1995, the district court granted appellants’ motionand affirmed its prior dismissal of appellants’ appeal, albeit for different reasons than those stated in the court’s September 1, 1995 order. Appellants appeal to this court, and we affirm. On appeal to this court, appellants do not assign e rror to the district court’s decision that it lacked jurisdiction to decide thei r appeal, but instead, argue the merits of their district court appeal which are notproperly before this court. Although we construe pleadings from pro se litigant s liberally, Haines v. Kerner , 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972), this court “will not c onstruct arguments or theories for the plaintiff[s] in the absence of any discussi on of those issues,” Drake v. City of Fort Collins , 927 F.2d 1156, 1159 (10th Cir. 1991). Therefore, for substantially the reasons stated in the district court’s order dated October 10, 1995, the judgment of the United States District Court for the-4-

District of New Mexico dismissing appellants’ appea l is AFFIRMED. The mandate shall issue forthwith.

Entered for the Court

Deanell Reece Tacha Circuit Judge