Lisa Searcy v. Juan Chavarria

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: November 18, 2025
• Docket: 01-25-00624-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued November 18, 2025

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-25-00624-CV ——————————— LISA SEARCY, Appellant V. JUAN CHAVARRIA, Appellee

On Appeal from the 306th District Court Galveston County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 11-FD-3388

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On August 8, 2025, appellant, Lisa Searcy, proceeding pro se, filed a notice

of appeal in connection with the underlying suit affecting the parent-child

relationship. Appellant’s notice of appeal stated that she sought to appeal the trial

court’s “final judgment and other rulings,” but failed to identify any specific “final judgment” or “other rulings” she was challenging on appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P.

25.1(d)(2). However, the appellate record reflects that on May 7, 2025, the trial

court signed an ”Order of Dismissal for Want of Prosecution,” which appears to be

the final judgment challenged by appellant. Appellant’s August 8, 2025 notice of

appeal was not timely filed to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court.

We therefore dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, we lack jurisdiction over an appeal.

See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1. Generally, a notice of appeal of a final judgment must be

filed within thirty days after the entry of judgment. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1.

Accordingly, in order to invoke this Court’s appellate jurisdiction over the trial

court’s May 7, 2025 order, appellant was required to file a notice of appeal on or

before June 6, 2025.

Where a party timely files certain post-judgment motions, the deadline to file

a notice of appeal is extended to ninety days after the entry of judgment. See TEX.

R. APP. P. 26.1(a)(1). Post-judgment motions generally must be filed within thirty

days after the judgment or other order complained of is signed. See TEX. R. CIV. P.

329b(a), (g). The appellate record reflects that appellant did not file any

post-judgment motion with the trial court. Accordingly, appellant’s August 8, 2025

notice of appeal was not timely filed.

2 Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3 allows for an extension of the

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

a notice of appeal, an appellant files a notice of appeal in the trial court, and a motion

for extension of time to file a notice of appeal in the appellate court. Taking this

extension into account, appellant was required to file a notice of appeal in the trial

court, and a motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal in this Court, no

later than June 23, 2025.

Appellant’s August 8, 2025 notice of appeal was not filed by the deadline for

filing a notice of appeal, even taking into account the extension provided by Texas

Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3. Further, the Court’s records do not indicate that

appellant filed a motion to extend the deadline to file her notice of appeal.

Appellant’s August 8, 2025 notice of appeal was therefore not timely filed.

Accordingly, on October 9, 2025, the Court notified appellant that it appeared

the Court lacked jurisdiction over the appeal because her notice of appeal from the

trial court’s May 7, 2025 order was not timely filed. Appellant was directed to file

a written response within ten days demonstrating, with citation to law and the record,

that the Court had jurisdiction over the appeal.

On October 9, 2025, appellant filed a response to the Court’s notice. In her

response, appellant failed to establish that her notice of appeal was timely filed, or

3 We therefore dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P.

42.3(a), (c), 43.2(f). All pending motions are dismissed as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Rivas-Molloy, Gunn, and Caughey.