Luis A. Santiago and Linda A. Santiago v. the Bank of New York Mellon, Ocwen Financial Corporation, Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems ( 2015 )

DISMISS and Opinion Filed May 18, 2015
S In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-15-00342-CV
LUIS A. SANTIAGO AND LINDA A. SANTIAGO, Appellants
V.
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON,
OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION, OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC,
AND MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, Appellees
On Appeal from the 296th Judicial District Court
Collin County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 296-02073-2011
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Wright and Justices Lang-Miers and Stoddart
Opinion by Chief Justice Wright
Appellants appeal the trial court’s December 1, 2014 order granting a motion to clarify
the parties’ agreed order staying enforcement of the judgment. Appellants filed their notice of
appeal on March 13, 2015. In a letter dated April 9, 2015, we questioned our jurisdiction over
this appeal and instructed appellants to file a jurisdictional brief and gave appellees an
opportunity to respond.
Appellants timely filed a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law, and filed
their notice of appeal fifty-seven days after the order was signed. Generally, a notice of appeal
must be filed within thirty days of the appealed order. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. A timely
request for findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure
296, however, will extend the time to file a notice of appeal to ninety days if findings of fact and
conclusions of law either are required by the Rules of Civil Procedure or, if not required, could
properly be considered by the appellate court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a)(4). Appellees contend
the request for findings of fact and conclusions of law here did not extend the appellants’
deadline. We agree.
Rule 296 does not apply to post-judgment hearings. See Johnson v. J.W. Construction
Co., 717 S.W.2d 464, 467-68 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1986, no writ). Appellants made the
request for findings of fact and conclusions of law following a trial court’s order on a post-
judgment motion. Findings of fact and conclusions of law are not relevant in this context. See
id. For this reason, the request for findings of fact and conclusions of law did not extend the
time for filing a notice of appeal, and the notice of appeal is untimely.
The timely filing of a notice of appeal is jurisdictional. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1(b).
Because the notice of appeal here was filed late, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
150342F.P05
/Carolyn Wright/
CAROLYN WRIGHT
CHIEF JUSTICE
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S
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
LUIS A. SANTIAGO AND On Appeal from the 296th Judicial District
LINDA A. SANTIAGO, Appellants Court, Collin County, Texas.
Trial Court Cause No. 296-02073-2011.
No. 05-15-00342-CV V. Opinion delivered by Chief Justice Wright.
Justices Lang-Miers and Stoddart,
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, participating.
OCWEN FINANCIAL CORPORATION,
OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC, AND
MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC
REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, Appellees
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the appeal is DISMISSED.
It is ORDERED that appellees THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, OCWEN
FINANCIAL CORPORATION, OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC, AND MORTGAGE
ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS recover their costs of this appeal from appellants
LUIS A. SANTIAGO AND LINDA A. SANTIAGO.
Judgment entered May 18, 2015.
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