Opinion
05-23-00021-CV
04-17-2023
CHANI NICOLE JENSEN, Appellant v. HALEY MARIE JENSEN BARB, Appellee
On Appeal from the 330th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DF-22-08224
ORDER
BONNIE LEE GOLDSTEIN, JUSTICE
This appeal from a permanent restraining order signed by an associate family court judge following a contested hearing was filed prematurely. Although a request for a de novo hearing before the referring court was not timely filed, the order is not yet the order of the referring court and appealable because the referring court has not signed it. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §§ 201.013(b), 201.016(b).
We have given appellant two opportunities to obtain on order signed by the referring court to avoid the appeal being dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Following the second opportunity, appellant filed a status report informing the Court that the referring court "does not believe [it] has the authority or the jurisdiction to sign the [order] and will not be signing any such order." Nonetheless, appellant requests she be permitted to pursue the appeal.
We cannot exercise jurisdiction where none exists. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 94 (1998) ("Without jurisdiction the court cannot proceed at all in any cause."). However, to the extent the referring court may have believed it lacked the authority or jurisdiction to sign the order because its plenary power had expired and an appeal had been perfected, we note that, because the referring court has not signed the appealed order, the court's plenary power has not begun to run. See In re E.W.N., 482 S.W.3d 150, 152 (Tex. App.-El Paso 2015, no pet.) (generally, appellate court acquires exclusive plenary jurisdiction over cause once appeal has been perfected and trial court's plenary power has expired) (emphasis added); In re A.J.F., 313 S.W.3d 475, 478 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2010, no pet.) (plenary power begins to run from date referring court adopts associate judge's order).
We previously cautioned appellant that the appeal was subject to dismissal without further notice if a supplemental clerk's record containing a copy of the referring court's order was not filed by March 30, 2023. Given the apparent misunderstanding concerning the referring court's jurisdiction, we EXTEND the deadline for the filing of the supplemental record to May 2, 2023. The appeal remains subject to dismissal without further notice should there be no compliance.
We DIRECT the Clerk of the Court to send a copy of this order to the Honorable Andrea D. Plumlee, Presiding Judge of the 330th Judicial District Court; Dallas County District Clerk Felicia Pitre; and, the parties.
We ABATE the appeal. The appeal will be reinstated no later than May 5, 2023.