Stanley C. Nwokenkwo, Individually, Adwumi Adeniyi, Individually, and Oluwatoyin Adeniyi, Individually v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 7, 2022
• Docket: 14-22-00001-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order filed July 7, 2022

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-22-00001-CV ____________

STANLEY C. NWOKENKWO, INDIVIDUALLY, ADWUMI ADENIYI, INDIVIDUALLY, AND OLUWATOYIN ADENIYI, INDIVIDUALLY, Appellants

V.

JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., Appellee

On Appeal from the 129th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2019-53231A

ORDER

This is an appeal from an order signed November 4, 2021, made final by order of severance on December 1, 2021. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on December 30, 2021. The notice of appeal was filed in trial court cause number 2019-53231, but the severance order transferred the November 4, 2021, order to trial court cause number 2019-53231A. Accordingly, the notice of appeal, which should have been filed in cause number 2019-53231A, is defective.

An incorrect cause number on the notice of appeal does not defeat the jurisdiction of the court of appeals if the instrument is a “bona fide attempt” to invoke appellate court jurisdiction. San Antonio v. Rodriguez, 828 S.W.2d 417, 418 (Tex. 1992). An appellant should be given an opportunity to amend a defective perfecting instrument before the court of appeals may dismiss an appeal. Grand Prairie I.S.D. v. Southern Parts Imports, Inc., 813 S.W.2d 499, 500 (Tex. 1991).

Appellant’s notice of appeal is a bona fide attempt to invoke this court’s jurisdiction. Appellant is ordered to file an amended notice of appeal within ten days of the date of this order. The appeal is subject to being dismissed without further notice for lack of jurisdiction if appellant does not comply with this order. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

PER CURIAM

Panel Consists of Chief Justice Christopher and Justices Wise and Jewell.