in the Interest of J.D., a Child ( 2019 )

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-19-00258-CV
___________________________
IN THE INTEREST OF J.D., A CHILD
On Appeal from County Court at Law No. 1
Wichita County, Texas
Trial Court No. 13166-JR-E
Before Sudderth, C.J.; Gabriel and Womack, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Mother attempts to appeal from the “Decree of Termination,”
terminating her parental rights to J.D. The trial court signed the termination order on
June 11, 2019; thus, Mother’s notice of appeal was due on Tuesday, July 1, 2019. See
Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(a) (providing that appeals from final termination
orders are accelerated); Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b) (requiring notice of appeal in an
accelerated case to be filed within twenty days of appealable order or judgment).
Mother did not file her notice of appeal until July 12, 2019.
On July 17, 2019, we notified Mother that it appeared we lacked jurisdiction
over this appeal because the notice of appeal was not timely filed. See Tex. R. App. P.
26.1(b). We advised her that this appeal could be dismissed unless she, or any party
desiring to continue the appeal, filed a response showing grounds for continuing the
appeal on or before July 29, 2019. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). Mother did not
file a response.
The time for filing a notice of appeal is jurisdictional in this court, and absent a
timely-filed notice of appeal or extension request, we must dismiss the appeal. See
Tex. R. App. P. 2, 25.1(b), 26.3; Jones v. City of Houston, 976 S.W.2d 676, 677 (Tex.
1998); Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). A motion for extension of
time is necessarily implied when an appellant acting in good faith files a notice of
appeal beyond the time allowed by rule 26.1 but within the fifteen-day period in which
the appellant would be entitled to move to extend the filing deadline under rule 26.3.
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See Jones, 976 S.W.2d at 677; Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617; see also Tex. R. App. P. 26.1,
26.3. However, when a motion for extension is implied, it is still necessary for the
appellant to reasonably explain the need for an extension. See Jones, 976 S.W.2d at
677; Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617.
Because Mother’s notice of appeal was untimely and because Mother did not
provide a reasonable explanation for needing an extension, we dismiss the appeal for
want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 2, 25.1(b), 26.3, 42.3(a), 43.2(f), 44.3; Jones,
976 S.W.2d at 677; Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617; see also In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d 923,
928 (Tex. 2005) (affirming appellate court’s judgment dismissing appeal from
termination order for want of jurisdiction because notice of appeal was filed more
than twenty days after the trial court’s judgment was signed); In re D.R., 02-15-00251-
CV, 2015 WL 5172960, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Sept. 3, 2015, no pet.) (mem.
op.) (dismissing appeal from termination order for failure to timely file notice of
appeal); In re A.N.C., No. 02-09-00429-CV, 2010 WL 1006410, at *1 (Tex. App.—
Fort Worth Mar. 18, 2010, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same).
/s/ Dana Womack
Dana Womack
Justice
Delivered: August 22, 2019
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