Court Opinion

ID: 9953910
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-23 17:13:18.115065+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:12:56.466427
License: Public Domain

NUMBER 13-24-00048-CV

                    COURT OF APPEALS

             THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

               CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG

DELFINA TORRES AKA
DELFINA CORONADO TORRES,                                Appellant,

                               v.

CAMERON COUNTY,
CITY OF BROWNSVILLE, AND
BROWNSVILLE INDEPENDENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT,                                       Appellees.

             On appeal from the 138th District Court
                  of Cameron County, Texas.

                  MEMORANDUM OPINION

  Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Longoria and Peña
              Memorandum Opinion by Justice Peña
       On January 18, 2024, appellant Delfina Torres a/k/a Delfina Coronado Torres filed

a pro se notice of appeal from a tax arrearage judgment signed on October 10, 2023. On

January 24, 2024, the Clerk of this Court advised appellant that her notice of appeal had

not been timely filed, requested correction of this defect, if possible, and advised appellant

that the appeal would be dismissed if the defect was not corrected within ten days. See

TEX. R. APP. P. 37.1, 42.3(a).

       “A timely notice of appeal is an essential prerequisite for the appellate court’s

jurisdiction.” Mitschke v. Borromeo, 645 S.W.3d 251, 253 (Tex. 2022). If the appeal is not

timely perfected, we must dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See In re J.J.R., 599

S.W.3d 605, 610 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2020, no pet.); In re L.G., 517 S.W.3d 275, 277

(Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017, pet. denied) (per curiam); Baker v. Baker, 469 S.W.3d

269, 272 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, no pet.).

       The Court, having examined and fully considered the documents on file and the

applicable law, is of the opinion that this appeal should be dismissed. Appellant’s notice

of appeal was due to be filed within thirty days after the judgment was signed, yet it was

not filed within this period, nor was it filed within the fifteen-day grace period provided by

the rules of appellate procedure. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959

S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). Appellant’s notice of appeal was untimely, and under these

circumstances, we lack jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P.

42.3(a); In re L.G., 517 S.W.3d at 277; Haase v. Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels,

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Agosto & Friend, LLP, 404 S.W.3d 75, 80 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).

Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).

                                                              L. ARON PEÑA JR.
                                                              Justice

Delivered and filed on the
21st day of March, 2024.

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