Opinion
No. 09-09-00008-CV
Opinion Delivered May 28, 2009.
On Appeal from the 1st District Court Jasper County, Texas, Trial Cause No. 28309.
Before McKEITHEN, C.J., GAULTNEY and KREGER, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
J.M. and G.M. appeal a judgment terminating their parental rights to their three children, J.M., J.M. and J.M. Because the appellants have been deprived of an appellate record through no fault of their own, we reverse the judgment and remand the case for a new trial.
An appellant is entitled to a new trial if, without the appellant's fault, a timely requested reporter's record has been lost or destroyed, is necessary for the appeal, and cannot be replaced. Tex. R. App. P. 34.6(f). In this case, the court reporter notified the Court that the reporter's record has been lost. We notified the parties and asked if the record could be replaced by agreement or by the trial court. In response, both appellants and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services agreed that the record could not be replaced and that the appellants are entitled to a new trial.
It is undisputed that the record of the trial cannot be prepared because a material portion of the trial record has been lost, that the appellants are not at fault, and that the record cannot be replaced by agreement of the parties. See Tex. R. App. P. 34.6(f). Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's judgment and remand the cause for a new trial.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.