In the Interest of N. L. a Child v. the State of Texas ( 2023 )

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-23-00406-CV
___________________________
IN THE INTEREST OF N. L., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 442nd District Court
Denton County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2008-30603-211
Before Kerr, Birdwell, and Bassel, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Kerr
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On August 22, 2023, the trial court signed an “Order of Dismissal” dismissing
the underlying case. Pro se appellant C.L. attempts to appeal from that order. Because
no postjudgment motion was filed, C.L.’s notice of appeal was due on September 21,
2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. But C.L. did not file his notice of appeal until October
25, 2023, making it untimely. See id.
We notified C.L. by letter of our concern that we lack jurisdiction over this
appeal because his notice of appeal was untimely filed. See id. We warned C.L. that
unless he or any other party desiring to continue the appeal filed a response within ten
days showing grounds for continuing the appeal, we could dismiss the appeal for want
of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. Ten days have passed, and we have
received no response.
The deadline for filing a notice of appeal is jurisdictional; without a timely filed
notice of appeal or a timely filed extension request, we must dismiss the appeal. See
Tex. R. App. P. 2, 25.1(b), 26.1, 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). Because C.L.’s notice of
appeal was untimely filed, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R.
App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
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/s/ Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr
Justice
Delivered: December 14, 2023
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