Court Opinion

ID: 9960048
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-15 08:10:05.882721+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:19:07.266347
License: Public Domain

In the
          Court of Appeals
  Second Appellate District of Texas
           at Fort Worth
       ___________________________
            No. 02-24-00100-CV
       ___________________________

IN THE INTEREST OF S.G. AND H.G., CHILDREN

     On Appeal from the 231st District Court
             Tarrant County, Texas
         Trial Court No. 231-554711-14

     Before Birdwell, Bassel, and Womack, JJ.
       Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion
                           MEMORANDUM OPINION

      Appellant Father,1 pro se, attempts to appeal from the trial court’s order

terminating his parental rights to S.G. and H.G. The trial court signed the termination

order on January 17, 2024; thus, Father’s notice of appeal was due on February 6,

2024. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(a) (stating appeals from final termination

orders are accelerated); Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b) (requiring notice of appeal in

accelerated case to be filed within 20 days after judgment or order is signed). Father

did not file his notice of appeal until February 27, 2024.

      On March 1, 2024, we notified Father by letter of our concern that we lack

jurisdiction over this appeal because the notice of appeal was untimely filed. See Tex.

R. App. P. 26.1(b). We warned Father that we could dismiss this appeal for want of

jurisdiction unless, by March 11, 2024, we received a response showing grounds for

continuing the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. We have not received a

response.

      The time for filing a notice of appeal is jurisdictional in this court, and absent a

timely filed notice of appeal or extension request, 2 we must dismiss the appeal. See

      We use an alias to identify Father. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 109.002(d); Tex.
      1

R. App. P. 9.8(b)(2).
      2
       The appellate rules allow us to extend the time for filing a notice of appeal, but
any such motion for extension must be filed within 15 days after the notice-of-appeal
deadline. Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; see Jones v. City of Houston, 976 S.W.2d 676, 677 (Tex.
1998) (citing former Rule 41(a)(2) and holding motion for extension may be implied
when an appellant acting in good faith files a notice of appeal beyond the time

                                            2
Tex. R. App. P. 2, 25.1(b), 26.3; Jones, 976 S.W.2d at 677; Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617.

Because Father’s notice of appeal was untimely, we dismiss the appeal for want of

jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f); In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d 923, 924, 928

(Tex. 2005); In re N.J., No. 02-22-00392-CV, 2022 WL 17037425, at *2 (Tex. App.—

Fort Worth Nov. 17, 2022, no pet.) (mem. op.).

                                                       Per Curiam

Delivered: April 11, 2024

allowed by the appellate rules but within the 15-day period in which appellant would
be entitled to move to extend filing deadline); Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617
(Tex. 1997) (similar). Here, no motion for extension was filed, and Father filed his
notice of appeal after the 15-day extension period.

                                            3