Donna M. Parrish v. East Texas Medical Center Athens, East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 28, 2007
• Docket: 12-07-00084-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

OPINION HEADING PER CUR

                NO. 12-07-00084-CV

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT

TYLER, TEXAS

DONNA M. PARRISH,        §          APPEAL FROM THE 173RD

APPELLANT           

V.        §          JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF

EAST TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER

ATHENS; AND EAST TEXAS       

MEDICAL CENTER REGIONAL  §          HENDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

HEALTHCARE SYSTEM,  

APPELLEES

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PER CURIAM

            This appeal is being dismissed for want of jurisdiction pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.3(a).  The trial court’s judgment was signed on November 6, 2006.  Under rule of appellate procedure 26.1(a), unless Appellant timely filed a motion for new trial or other postjudgment motion that extended the appellate deadlines, her notice of appeal was due to have been filed “within 30 days after the judgment [was] signed,” i.e., December 6, 2006.  However, the notice of appeal was filed on February 20, 2007. 

            A motion for new trial must be filed within thirty days after the judgment is signed.  Tex. R. Civ. P. 329b(a).  Although Appellant filed a motion for new trial, the motion was file marked by the trial court clerk on December 11, 2006, which was 35 days after the judgment was signed.  Appellant has not furnished proof that the motion for new trial was mailed on or before December 6, 2006.   See Tex. R. App. P. 9.2(b)(1), (2).  Consequently, we cannot conclude that the motion for new trial was timely.  As such, the motion did not extend the appellate deadlines.

            Appellant has filed a motion for extension of time to file her notice of appeal.  See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3.  A motion to extend the time to file a notice of appeal must be filed within 15 days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal.  In this case, the deadline for filing the notice of appeal was December 6, 2006, but Appellant did not file her motion to extend time until February 22, 2007.  Therefore, the motion was untimely.  Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a).  Because the notice of appeal was not filed on or before December 6, 2006, this court has no jurisdiction to consider the appeal.  Moreover, we are not authorized to extend the time for perfecting an appeal except as provided by Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 26.1 and 26.3.  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).  Accordingly, we overrule Appellant’s motion for extension of time to file her notice of appeal and dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).

Opinion delivered February 28, 2007.

Panel consisted of Worthen, C.J., Griffith, J., and Hoyle, J.

(PUBLISH)