Cameron Appraisal District v. Elida L. Alfaro

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 25, 2024
• Docket: 13-24-00010-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

NUMBER 13-24-00010-CV

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG

CAMERON APPRAISAL DISTRICT, Appellant,

v.

ELIDA L. ALFARO, Appellee.

On appeal from the 357th District Court of Cameron County, Texas.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Longoria, Silva, and Peña Memorandum Opinion by Justice Silva

This cause is before the Court on its own motion. On December 28, 2023, appellant

filed a notice attempting to appeal the trial court’s denial of appellant’s plea to the jurisdiction, signed on October 23, 2023. We now dismiss this appeal for lack of

jurisdiction.

An appeal taken from a denial of a plea to the jurisdiction in such a case shall be

accelerated. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(8). To perfect an

accelerated appeal, the party is required to file a notice of appeal “within 20 days after the

judgment or order is signed.” See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). The filing of a motion for new

trial, request for findings of fact and conclusions of law, or any other post-judgment

motion, except for a motion for extension of time filed under Texas Rule of Appellate

Procedure 26.3, “will not extend the time to perfect an accelerated appeal.” Id. R. 26.3,

28.1(b).

We are to construe the rules of appellate procedure reasonably and liberally so

that the right to appeal is not lost by imposing requirements not absolutely necessary to

effectuate the purpose of a rule. See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 616–17 (Tex.

1997). Nevertheless, we are prohibited from enlarging the scope of our jurisdiction by

enlarging the time for perfecting an appeal in a civil case in a manner not provided for by

rule. See TEX. R. APP. P. 2; In re T.W., 89 S.W.3d 641, 642 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2002,

no pet.).

Appellant’s notice of appeal was untimely; therefore, we lack jurisdiction over the

appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

CLARISSA SILVA Justice

Delivered and filed on the 25th day of January, 2024.