Opinion
09-21-00359-CV
12-30-2021
IN THE INTEREST OF K.R.K.-L. H.
Submitted on December 29, 2021
On Appeal from the 253rd District Court Liberty County, Texas Trial Cause No. CV2016063
Before Golemon, C.J., Horton and Johnson, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM
On November 9, 2021, appellant L.H. filed a notice of appeal from a proposed order of termination signed by an associate judge on October 20, 2021. Appellant also filed a request for a de novo hearing by the referring court. On December 8, 2021, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the referring court has not signed a final order. In response, L.H. concedes the termination order is interlocutory because the referring court has not held the de novo hearing.
When a party timely files a request for a de novo hearing and nothing in the record indicates that the appellant waived the right to a de novo hearing, the associate judge's ruling is not a final judgment. See C.A. v. Tex. Dep't of Family & Protective Servs., No. 03-20-00158-CV, 2020 WL 4929786, at *1 (Tex. App.-Austin Aug. 18, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.). We grant the Department's motion to dismiss and dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
APPEAL DISMISSED.