Opinion
NUMBER 13-17-00354-CV
08-29-2017
IN THE INTEREST OF B.L., A CHILD
On appeal from the 430th District Court of Hidalgo County, Texas.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Longoria and Hinojosa
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Hinojosa
This is an accelerated parental termination case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 28.4. Appellant K.L. attempts to appeal from a judgment entered on March 15, 2016, terminating her parental rights with respect to her child B.L. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on July 3, 2017. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
We will refer to the mother as K.L. and her child as B.L. in accordance with rule of appellate procedure 9.8. See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.8(b) (providing that in a parental-rights termination case, "the court must, in its opinion, use an alias to refer to a minor, and if necessary to protect the minor's identity, to the minor's parent or other family member"); see also TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 109.002(d) (West, Westlaw through 2017 R.S.) ("On the motion of the parties or on the court's own motion, the appellate court in its opinion may identify the parties by fictitious names or by their initials only.").
In suits where the termination of parental rights is in issue, an appeal of a final order is governed by the rules for accelerated appeals in civil cases. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. §§ 109.002(a), 263.405(a) (West, Westlaw through 2017 R.S.). In an accelerated appeal, the notice of appeal must be filed within twenty days after the judgment or order is signed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b).
The appellate court may extend the time to file the notice of appeal, if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the party files the notice of appeal in the trial court and files in the appellate court a motion for extension of time that complies with the appellate rules. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3; see In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d 923, 926-27 (Tex. 2005). The filing of a motion for new trial, request for findings of fact and conclusions of law, or any other post-judgment motion, except for a motion for extension of time filed under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3, "will not extend the time to perfect an accelerated appeal." TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3, 28.1(b).
On July 14, 2017, this Court notified appellant, pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.3(a), that her notice of appeal was untimely. The Clerk of this Court notified appellant of this defect so that steps could be taken to cure the defect, if it could be done. See id. R. 37.3, 42.3(b), (c). Appellant was advised that, if the defect was not cured within ten days from the date of receipt of this notice, the appeal would be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Appellant failed to respond to the Court's notice.
Appellant's notice of appeal was untimely, and we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. Because this Court is not authorized to extend the time for perfecting an appeal except as provided by Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 26.1 and 26.3, we DISMISS the appeal for WANT OF JURISDICTION. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
LETICIA HINOJOSA
Justice Delivered and filed the 29th day of August, 2017.