in the Interest of J.L.F., a Child ( 2018 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-18-00299-CV
IN THE INTEREST OF J.L.F., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 286th District Court
Hockley County, Texas
Trial Court No. 16-11-24842, Honorable Pat Phelan, Presiding
August 21, 2018
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL and PIRTLE, JJ.
Appellant, J.F., attempts to appeal an order terminating his parental rights. We
dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
The trial court signed the order of termination on June 26, 2018. Because parental-
termination appeals are accelerated appeals, J.F.’s notice of appeal was due within
twenty days, by July 16, 2018. See TEX. R. APP. P. 28.4 (accelerating appeals in parental-
termination cases); 26.1(b) (requiring a notice of appeal to be filed within twenty days
after the judgment or order is signed in an accelerated appeal). This deadline could have
been extended by fifteen days to July 31, 2018, had J.F. filed a notice of appeal and a
motion for extension of time within the fifteen-day extension period. See TEX. R. APP. P.
26.3, 10.5(b); see also Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (implying a
motion for extension when an appellant tenders a notice of appeal within fifteen days after
the notice deadline). J.F. filed a notice of appeal on August 1, 2018, and a motion to
extend the time to file a notice of appeal on August 6. Because J.F. filed his notice of
appeal after the fifteen-day extension period had expired, we must deny his motion for
extension of time. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3.
As J.F.’s late notice of appeal failed to invoke the jurisdiction of this court, we
dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
Per Curiam
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