Priscilla Franks v. Darrell Mayfield

Opinion

Opinion issued August 13, 2026

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

notice of appeal was not timely filed.1 Appellant responded to the Court’s notice on August 7, 2026, but her response failed to establish this Court’s jurisdiction. We dismiss the appeal.

Appellant is appealing from an order signed on March 6, 2026, denying her emergency motion for temporary relief and for restraining order and injunction to stop eviction, for which appellee had been granted judgment in another court. The trial court signed an order denying appellant’s motion for a temporary injunction on February 3, 2026 and signed an order denying her emergency motion to determine rent pending appeal, to contest rent registry enforcement, and to challenge jurisdiction on March 6, 2026.

An order denying an emergency motion to determine rent is not a final judgment. A final judgment is one that disposes of all parties and claims. See Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). The March 6, 2026 order from which appellant seeks an appeal is not an order disposing of all parties and claims. Moreover, no statute permits appeal from this interlocutory order.

An order denying a request for a temporary injunction is an interlocutory order which may be appealed as provided by statute. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE

1 Appellee filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, but this motion failed to explain the basis for dismissal and thus, the Court issued a notice providing appellant with the apparent basis for dismissal and requested a response from appellant, establishing our jurisdiction.

3

§ 51.014(a) (permitting appeal from interlocutory order granting or refusing a temporary injunction). An appeal from an order denying an application for a temporary injunction is an accelerated appeal for which the notice of appeal must be filed within 20 days after the order is signed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b).

The order denying appellant’s request for a temporary injunction was signed on February 3, 2026, and thus, the notice of appeal was due by February 23, a date 20 days after the order was signed. Appellant did not file her notice of appeal until March 11, 2026. The appellate court may extend the time to file the notice of appeal if, within 15 days after the deadline for filing it, appellant files the notice of appeal in the trial court and files a motion for extension of time in the appellate court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. However, the fifteenth day after the deadline was March 10, 2026. Because the notice of appeal was not filed by the deadline or within 15 days of the deadline, it was not timely filed. When a notice of appeal is not timely filed, the appellate court’s jurisdiction is not invoked and it must dismiss the appeal. See Gantt v. Gantt, 208 S.W.3d 27, 30 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied).

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP.

P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). Any pending motions are dismissed as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justice Guerra, Gunn, and Morgan.

Footnotes

1. NO. 01-26-00271-CV ——————————— PRISCILLA FRANKS, Appellant V. DARRELL MAYFIELD, Appellee On Appeal from the County Civil Court at Law No. 4 Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1269292 MEMORANDUM OPINION The Court issued a notice to appellant, Priscilla Franks, who is proceeding pro se, advising her that the Court might dismiss the appeal because it appeared that the