in the Interest of Z.B., Z.B., and J.B.

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont ________________ NO. 09-14-00398-CV ________________

IN THE INTEREST OF Z.B., Z.B., AND J.B.

__________________________________________________________________

On Appeal from the 279th District Court Jefferson County, Texas Trial Cause No. F-219,449 __________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This is an attempted appeal by the children’s great-grandmother, who was

neither a party nor an intervenor in the trial court proceedings, from an order

terminating parental rights. On September 18, 2014, we sent a letter questioning

our jurisdiction over the case because appellant was not a party to the trial court

case. Appellant did not file a response.

Standing is a prerequisite to subject matter jurisdiction. Frost Nat’l Bank v.

Fernandez, 315 S.W.3d 494, 502 (Tex. 2010). Standing must exist at every stage

of a legal proceeding, including appeal. Williams v. Lara, 52 S.W.3d 171, 184

1 (Tex. 2001). To establish standing to appeal, a person must generally have been a

party to the judgment. In re S.J., No. 14-11-00142-CV, 2011 WL 2150586, at *1

(Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] June 2, 2011, no pet.) (mem. op.). Nonparties

who have not properly intervened in the trial court generally lack standing to

appeal the trial court’s judgment. See Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Huizar, 740 S.W.2d 429,

430 (Tex. 1987).

Because appellant was not a party in the trial court, nor was she a nonparty

who had properly intervened in the trial court, she lacks standing to appeal. See

S.J., 2011 WL 2150586, at *1. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of

jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f); In re K.A.P., No. 14-11-00536-CV, 2011

WL 4373987, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Sept. 20, 2011, no pet.)

(mem. op.) (Appellate court dismissed appeal for lack of jurisdiction because

grandmother was neither a party to the judgment nor an intervening party.).

APPEAL DISMISSED.

___________________________ STEVE McKEITHEN Chief Justice

Submitted on October 22, 2014 Opinion Delivered October 23, 2014

Before McKeithen, C.J., Kreger and Johnson, JJ.