Opinion
03-23-00760-CV
03-27-2024
Megan Stevenson and John Boleware, Appellants v. Lovell Investments, LTD., d/b/a "Lovell Investments, LLC;" and Austin Landmark Property Services, Inc., Appellees
FROM THE 250TH DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY NO. D-1-GN-22-002106, THE HONORABLE DON R. BURGESS, JUDGE PRESIDING
Before Chief Justice Byrne, Justices Triana and Kelly
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Chari L. Kelly, Justice
Appellants Megan Stevenson and John Boleware seek to appeal an order granting summary judgment in favor of appellees Lovell Investments, LTD., d/b/a "Lovell Investments, LLC" and Austin Landmark Property Services, Inc.
This Court's jurisdiction is generally limited to appeals from final judgments and certain interlocutory orders as permitted by statute. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). In addition, the timely filing of a notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court's appellate jurisdiction. In re United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, 307 S.W.3d 299, 307 (Tex. 2010) (orig. proceeding) (explaining that requirement of timely notice of appeal is jurisdictional). A notice of appeal generally must be filed within thirty days after the judgment is signed. Tex.R.App.P. 26.1. The deadline to file a notice of appeal is extended to ninety days when, as relevant here, a motion for new trial is timely filed. Id. R. 26.1(a)(1) (certain timely filed post-judgment motions extend time for filing notice of appeal).
Upon review of the record, and assuming without deciding that the trial court's summary-judgment order constitutes a final and appealable judgment, we conclude that appellants' notice of appeal failed to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court. The trial court signed the summary-judgment order that is the subject of this appeal on August 14, 2023. As a result, Appellants' deadline to file a motion for new trial was September 13, 2023, which date was not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 329b(a) (stating motion for new trial must be filed within thirty days after judgment or order is signed); see also id. R. 4 (computation of time). Although appellants filed a motion for new trial, they did not file their motion until September 15, 2023. Because appellants' motion for new trial was untimely, it did not operate to extend the deadline for filing their notice of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a); Coffee v. Coffee, No. 03-16-00466-CV, 2016 Tex.App. LEXIS 8651, at * 1-2 (Tex. App.-Austin Aug. 11, 2016, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing appeal for want of jurisdiction where motion for new trial was filed 31 days after signing of judgment). Consequently, even if the trial court's summary-judgment order is final and appealable, appellants' notice of appeal was due by September 13, 2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellants filed their notice of appeal on November 13, 2023.
If the trial court's August 14, 2023 summary-judgment order is not a final and appealable order, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195. Alternatively, if the August 14, 2023 summary-judgment order is final and appealable, because appellants did not timely file a notice of appeal, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. See In re United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, 307 S.W.3d at 307. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See id. R. 42.3(a).
Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction.