Opinion
NO. 14-17-00136-CV
04-14-2017
IN THE INTEREST OF W.T., III, A CHILD
On Appeal from the 314th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2016-00500J
ORDER
Appellants S.L.K. and W.T. filed a notice of appeal in this parental termination case on February 22, 2017. The final judgment in this case was signed March 8, 2017. In a civil case, a prematurely filed notice of appeal is effective and deemed filed on the day of, but after, the event that begins the period for perfecting the appeal. Tex. R. App. P. 27.1. Accordingly, appellants' notice of appeal is deemed to have been filed on March 8, 2017.
However, the notice of appeal purports to challenge a permanency hearing order. A permanency hearing order is not a final judgment or appealable order. An appellant should be given an opportunity to amend a defective perfecting instrument before the court of appeals may dismiss an appeal. Grand Prairie I.S.D. v. Southern Parts Imports, Inc., 813 S.W.2d 499, 500 (Tex. 1991).
The complete record has been filed, and appellants' brief was due March 28, 2017. No brief has been filed.
Accordingly, we order as follows:
1. Appellants shall file an amended notice of appeal to reflect an appeal from the final judgment. The amended notice of appeal is due by April 24, 2017.
2. Appellants shall file their brief by April 28, 2017.
3. If appellants do not comply with this order, the court will consider dismissal of the appeal for lack of jurisdiction or lack of prosecution. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), (b).
PER CURIAM