in the Interest of C.D.S. and C.K.S.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: October 17, 2002
• Docket: 14-02-00920-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Dismissed and Opinion filed October 17, 2002

Dismissed and Opinion filed October 17, 2002.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-02-00920-CV

IN THE INTEREST OF C.D.S. and C.K.S

On Appeal from the 247th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 01-32637

M E M O R A N D U M  O P I N I O N

This is an attempted appeal by the intervenor grandparents from a final decree of divorce, signed May 17, 2002.  Appellants filed a timely motion for new trial on June 14, 2002.  Appellant=s notice of appeal was not filed until September 4, 2002.  On September 5, 2002, appellants filed an opposed motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal.  On September 25, 2002, appellee, Ryan O=Neil Sealy filed a response and objection to appellants= motion to extend time and filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.  We grant the motion to dismiss.

When appellant has filed a timely motion for new trial, motion to modify the judgment, motion to reinstate, or request for findings of fact and conclusion of law, the notice of appeal must be filed within ninety days after the date the judgment is signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a).  Appellant=s notice of appeal was not filed timely. A motion for extension of time is necessarily implied when a appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of appeal beyond the time allowed by rule 26.1, but within the fifteen-day grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion for extension of time.  See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617-18 9 (1997) (construing the predecessor to Rule 26).  Appellant=s notice of appeal was not filed within the fifteen-day period provided by rule 26.3

Because appellants filed a timely motion for new trial, the notice of appeal was due on August 15, 2002.  An appellate court may extend the time to file the notice of appeal if, within 15 days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the party files the notice of appeal with the trial court.  Tex. R. App. P. 26.3.  This additional 15-day period ended on August 30, 2002.  Appellants did not file their notice of appeal until September 4, 2002.  Accordingly, appellants failed to invoke the jurisdiction of this court.

Accordingly, the appeal is ordered dismissed.

PER CURIAM

Judgment rendered and Opinion filed October 17, 2002.

Panel consists of Justices Edelman, Seymore, and Guzman.

Do Not Publish C Tex. R. App. P. 47.3(b).