in the Interest of K.J. and K.J., Children ( 2022 )

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-22-00271-CV
___________________________
IN THE INTEREST OF K.J. AND K.J., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the 231st District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 231-707263-21
Before Birdwell, Bassel, and Womack, JJ.
Per Curiam Memorandum Opinion
MEMORANDUM OPINION
O.J., proceeding pro se, attempts to appeal the family-violence protective order
that the trial court rendered against him. See Tex. Fam. Code. Ann. §§ 81.001, 85.001.
After we reviewed the trial court’s docket sheet, it was apparent that the underlying
suit started with an original petition in a suit affecting the parent–child relationship
and that an application for a protective order was filed in the same underlying suit.
On July 14, 2022, we informed O.J. that we were concerned that we might not
have jurisdiction over this appeal because—after being informed by the trial court
clerk that the trial judge had not signed an order in the underlying case—it appeared
there is no final judgment or order subject to appeal and that O.J.’s notice of appeal is
premature. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a), 27.1(a). We gave the parties twenty days to
correct the defect and furnish this court with a signed copy of the order that O.J.
seeks to appeal. In response, O.J. provided copies of the trial court’s “Temporary Ex
Parte Protective Order and Order Setting Hearing,” signed May 24, 2022, and its
“Final Protective Order,” signed June 7, 2022.
On August 22, 2022, we sent a second letter to O.J. informing him that the
“Temporary Ex Parte Protective Order and Order Setting Hearing” and the “Final
Protective Order” do not appear to be appealable at this time. See Tex. Fam. Code
Ann. §§ 81.009(c) (“A protective order rendered against a party in a suit affecting the
parent–child relationship may not be appealed until the time an order providing for
support of the child or possession of or access to the child becomes a final, appealable
2
order.”), 109.002 (discussing appellate review). We stated that unless O.J. filed a
response showing grounds for continuing the appeal, this appeal could be dismissed
for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3.
We have received no response and have confirmed that the petition in the
underlying suit affecting the parent–child relationship remains pending. Because there
is no final judgment or appealable interlocutory order, we dismiss the appeal for want
of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f).
Per Curiam
Delivered: December 22, 2022
3