in the Interest of B.M.O. and J.L.O., Minor Children

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 10, 2008
• Docket: 13-07-00172-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

NUMBER 13-07-172-CV

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

_________________________________________________________

IN THE INTEREST OF B.M.O. AND J.L.O., MINOR CHILDREN

________________________________________________________

On appeal from the 36th District Court

of Bee County, Texas.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Benavides

Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam

Lisa Marie Oliver has filed an appeal from the termination of her parental rights to minor children, B.M.O., and J.L.O. We affirm.

Section 263.405(b) of the Texas Family Code requires an appellant to file, not later than the fifteenth day after a final order is signed, a statement "of the point or points on which the party intends to appeal." Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(b) (Vernon Supp. 2006). The Legislature added a new subsection, effective for appeals filed after September 1, 2005, which provides that the "appellate court may not consider any issue that was not specifically presented to the trial court in a timely filed statement of the points on which the party intends to appeal . . . ." See id. § 263.405(i) (Vernon Supp. 2006).

The clerk's record, filed in this Court on May 15, 2007, fails to contain a statement of points on appeal. On November 9, 2007, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that the record before the Court lacked a statement of points and directed appellant to correct this defect, if such could be done, within ten days from the date of that notice. Appellant has failed to respond to this directive. Appellant has also failed to respond to notices regarding her failure to file a docketing statement, request a reporter's record, or file a timely brief in this matter. ⁽¹⁾

The statute is clear that a party who does not file a statement of the points on appeal within fifteen days does not preserve any issues for appeal. Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(i); In re R.M.R., 218 S.W.3d 863, 864 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 2007, no pet.); In re M.N., 230 S.W.3d 248, 249 (Tex. App.-Eastland 2007, pet. filed); In re T.T., 228 S.W.3d 312 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied); In re J.W.H., 222 S.W.3d 661 (Tex. App.-Waco 2007, no pet.); In re D.A.R., 201 S.W.3d 229 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2006, no pet.).

In a situation such as this, where no statement of points exists, under the express terms of the statute, there is no contention of error that can be raised that we may consider on appeal. In re R.M.R., 218 S.W.3d at 864. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

PER CURIAM

Memorandum Opinion delivered and filed

this the 10th day of January, 2008.

1.

¹The Court's notice was sent to appellant's last known forwarding address; however, the notice was returned unclaimed and no response has been filed. The Court has sent other correspondence to appellant which has also been returned as undeliverable. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.1(b) requires unrepresented parties to sign any document filed and "give the party's mailing address, telephone number, and fax number, if any." See Tex. R. App. P. 9.1(b). Appellant has neither provided this court with a forwarding address nor taken any other action to prosecute this appeal.