In Re Shacrysta B. ( 2024 )

10/25/2024
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
October 23, 2024
IN RE SHACRYSTA B. ET AL.
Appeal from the Juvenile Court for Knox County
No. 222173 Timothy E. Irwin, Judge
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No. E2024-01071-COA-R3-PT
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This is an appeal from a final order entered on June 6, 2024. The notice of appeal was not
filed with the Appellate Court Clerk until July 16, 2024, more than thirty days from the
date of entry of the order from which the appellant is seeking to appeal. Because the notice
of appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Appeal Dismissed
JOHN W. MCCLARTY, J.; THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, J.; AND KRISTI M. DAVIS, J.
Christine Dummer, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Chrissy M.1
Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter, and Jordan K. Crews, Senior Assistant
Attorney General, for the appellee, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
MEMORANDUM OPINION2
The Knox County Juvenile Court (“Trial Court”) entered a corrected final judgment
on June 6, 2024 that terminated the parental rights of the appellant mother, Chrissy M.
1
The appellant mother, Chrissy M., was represented in the trial court proceedings by David Vander Sluis,
who was relieved of further representation in the trial court’s June 6, 2024 order. Christine Dummer was
subsequently appointed to represent the appellant mother in this appeal on or about August 2, 2024.
2
Rule 10 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals provides:
This Court, with the concurrence of all judges participating in the case, may affirm, reverse
or modify the actions of the trial court by memorandum opinion when a formal opinion
would have no precedential value. When a case is decided by memorandum opinion it
shall be designated “MEMORANDUM OPINION,” shall not be published, and shall not
be cited or relied on for any reason in any unrelated case.
(“Appellant”). On July 16, 2024, Appellant filed a pro se notice of appeal in this case, in
which she states that she is seeking to appeal the May 2, 2024 order from the Trial Court.3
The notice of appeal was presented for filing in person to the Appellate Court Clerk’s
Office.
Upon receipt of the appellate record and pursuant to Tenn. R. App. P. 13(b), this
Court reviewed the record on appeal to determine if the Court has subject matter
jurisdiction over the appeal. The appellate record reveals that Appellant’s notice of appeal
appears to be untimely filed, thus depriving this Court of jurisdiction to consider the appeal.
Therefore, this Court entered an order directing Appellant to show cause why this appeal
should not be dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction resulting from an untimely notice of
appeal. Appellant filed a response to the show cause order stating that Appellant “was
directed to the wrong place several times to file the Notice of Appeal” and that she was
without the benefit of counsel because her attorney withdrew following the conclusion of
the termination of parental rights hearing. Despite Appellant’s assertions, Appellant has
not requested that this Court remand the matter to the Trial Court to seek relief pursuant to
Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 60. See Tenn. R. App. P. 4(a), Advisory Comm’n
Comments (“[I]n appropriate circumstances an otherwise untimely appeal may be taken by
first securing relief under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 60.02.”); McCracken v.
Brentwood United Methodist Church, 958 S.W.2d 792, 795 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997); In re
Jayden B.-H., 2013 WL 4505389, at *1 (“The only relief that can be granted to a party who
files an untimely notice of appeal must come from the trial court, pursuant to Tennessee
Rule of Civil Procedure 60.”).
In order to be timely, a notice of appeal must “be filed with the clerk of the appellate
court within 30 days after the date of entry of the judgment appealed from.” Tenn. R. App.
P. 4(a). “The thirty-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal is mandatory and
jurisdictional in civil cases.” Albert v. Frye, 145 S.W.3d 526, 528 (Tenn. 2004). If a notice
of appeal is not filed in a civil case in a timely fashion from the date of entry of the final
judgment, we are not at liberty to waive the procedural defect and must dismiss the appeal.
See Arfken & Assocs., P.A. v. Simpson Bridge Co., Inc., 85 S.W.3d 789, 791 (Tenn. Ct.
App. 2002); Am. Steinwinter Investor Group v. Am. Steinwinter, Inc., 964 S.W.2d 569, 571
(Tenn. Ct. App. 1997); Jefferson v. Pneumo Services Corp., 699 S.W.2d 181, 184 (Tenn.
Ct. App. 1985). This is true even in a termination of parental rights appeal where there are
fundamental constitutional rights at issue. See, e.g., In re Jayden B.-H., No. E2013-00873-
COA-R3-PT; 2013 WL 4505389, * 1 (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 21, 2013).
3
We note that Appellant states on her notice of appeal that she is appealing the judgment entered on May
2, 2024; however, there is no court order included in the record that was entered on that date. Instead, it
appears that the termination of parental rights hearing concluded on May 2, 2024, and the court order
memorializing that hearing was entered on June 6, 2024.
-2-
Because the notice of appeal in this case was filed more than thirty (30) days after
the date of entry of the final order, we lack jurisdiction to consider the appeal. This appeal
is dismissed. Costs on appeal are taxed to the appellant, Chrissy M., for which execution
may issue if necessary.
PER CURIAM
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