DocketNumber： 01-06-00848-CV
Filed Date： 5/17/2007
Status： Precedential
Modified Date： 4/17/2021
Opinion issued May 17, 2007
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
NO. 01-06-00848-CV
ELIZABETH MARIE CHAKEY, Appellant
V.
ZACHARY R. CHAKEY, JR. AND DAWN A. CHAKEY, Appellees
On Appeal from the 312th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2006-10791
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Elizabeth Marie Chakey, brings this restricted appeal from a final order in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. The district court appointed appellees, Zachary R. Chakey, Jr. and Dawn A. Chakey, the paternal grandfather and paternal step-grandmother of the minor child, as joint managing conservators. Appellant and Sean Robinson, the child's biological mother and father, were also appointed joint managing conservators. Appellant signed a waiver of service in which she requested the district court "not to enter any orders or judgment not signed by me or without my receiving prior written notice of the date, time, and place of the proceedings." Although appellant approved the final order as to both form and substance, she claims she did not receive notice of the final hearing. The appellate record does not reflect that appellant ever sought to withdraw her approval of the final order.
Appellant neither filed a motion for new trial, a regular appeal, or a motion claiming that she did not receive notice of the district court's final order pursuant to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 306a. Instead, appellant timely filed a restricted appeal pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 30. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.013 (Vernon 1997). Only a party who did not participate at trial can bring a restricted appeal. Tex. R. App. P. 30. Although appellant was not present at the actual hearing, she approved the final order as to both form and substance. We hold that this constitutes participation on appellant's part. See Texaco, Inc. v. Cent. Power & Light Co., 925 S.W.2d 586, 589 (Tex. 1996) (party who has taken part in all steps of summary judgment except hearing has participated); Stubbs v. Stubbs, 685 S.W.2d 643, 645 (Tex. 1985) (approving holding in Blankinship v. Blankinship, 572 S.W.2d 807, 808 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1978, no writ)) (party who waived citation in divorce proceeding, but signed decree before trial court signed it, participated). Appellant therefore cannot bring a restricted appeal.
We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. The Clerk of this Court is directed to issue the mandate immediately. See Tex. R. App. P. 18.6.
Sam Nuchia
Justice
Panel consists of Justices Nuchia, Hanks, and Bland.