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In re Denton

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eleventh District
Sep 30, 2021
No. 11-21-00194-CV (Tex. App. Sep. 30, 2021)

Opinion

11-21-00194-CV

09-30-2021

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ESTHER ABELL DENTON, DECEASED


On Appeal from the County Court Midland County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. P14779

Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J., Trotter, J., and Williams, J.

ORDER

PER CURIAM

Douglas A. Denton, Appellant, has filed a notice of appeal indicating that he wishes to appeal various rulings by the trial court related to two orders: (1) Order Granting Motion for Declaratory Judgment, Closing Estate and Discharging Administrator, which was purportedly signed on April 7, 2021, and (2) Order to Pay Attorney's Fees and Expenses, which was signed on May 26, 2021. Both orders may be appealable orders. This court is concerned about the timeliness of the notice of appeal with respect to the order that was purportedly signed on April 7.

We notified Appellant of our concern, and he filed a response pointing out that the Order Granting Motion for Declaratory Judgment, Closing Estate and Discharging Administrator could not have been signed by the trial court on April 7 because the hearing with respect to that order was not conducted until April 30. We have reviewed the documents filed by Appellant and the trial court's order, and we agree with Appellant. The order itself indicates that it was entered "after hearing on April 30[, ] 2021." Because April 7 appears to have been an impossible date, we abate this appeal and remand the cause to the trial court so that the trial court may determine on what date it actually signed the order and then issue an order clarifying the date of the trial court's signature.

Accordingly, we abate this appeal and remand the cause to the trial court so that it may clarify the date on which it signed the Order Granting Motion for Declaratory Judgment, Closing Estate and Discharging Administrator. The district clerk is directed to immediately send to the clerk of this court any order issued by the trial court in this matter. This appeal will be reinstated upon receipt of such order.

The appeal is abated.


Summaries of

In re Denton

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eleventh District
Sep 30, 2021
No. 11-21-00194-CV (Tex. App. Sep. 30, 2021)
Case details for

In re Denton

Case Details

Full title:IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ESTHER ABELL DENTON, DECEASED

Court:Court of Appeals of Texas, Eleventh District

Date published: Sep 30, 2021

Citations

No. 11-21-00194-CV (Tex. App. Sep. 30, 2021)