In the Interest of K.E., a Child v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 29, 2023
• Docket: 02-23-00190-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-23-00190-CV ___________________________

IN THE INTEREST OF K.E., A CHILD

On Appeal from the 442nd District Court Denton County, Texas Trial Court No. 22-6200-442

Before Wallach, J.; Sudderth, C.J.; and Walker, J. Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant P.E.1 (Father) filed this appeal from the trial court’s order in a suit

affecting the parent–child relationship involving his son, K.E. The trial court signed

the order on April 5, 2023, but Father did not file his notice of appeal until June 1,

2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1.

Concerned that we did not have jurisdiction over the appeal because the notice

of appeal had not been timely filed, we notified Father that the appeal could be

dismissed for want of jurisdiction unless, within ten days, he or another party filed

with this court a response showing grounds for continuing the appeal. See Tex. R.

App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. Father filed a response in which he stated that he “was reaching

out to [the] child support office [and] didn’t understand [the] appeal process.”

The timely filing of a notice of appeal is jurisdictional. In re K.M.Z., 178 S.W.3d

432, 433 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2005, no pet.). In a non-accelerated civil case, the

notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after the date on which the judgment

is signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. The appellate court may extend the time to file the

notice of appeal if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal,

the party files the notice of appeal along with a motion for extension of time. See Tex.

R. App. P. 26.3. Thus, if a party wishing to appeal has not filed any postjudgment

motions to extend the appellate deadline, the party must file a notice of appeal within

To preserve the privacy of the child, we identify the parties by pseudonyms. 1

See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 109.002(d).

2 forty-five days of the trial court’s final judgment. Satterthwaite v. First Bank, No. 02-20-

00182-CV, 2020 WL 4359400, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 30, 2020, no pet.)

(mem. op.).

Even if Father had filed a motion to extend time with his notice of appeal, the

notice of appeal would have been untimely. See Tex. R. App. 26.1, 26.3. Because the

notice of appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction, and our only option is

to dismiss the appeal. See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (stating

that once the period for granting a motion for extension of time has passed, a party

can no longer invoke the appellate court’s jurisdiction). Accordingly, we dismiss the

appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).

Per Curiam

Delivered: June 29, 2023