Opinion
06-21-00067-CV
08-20-2021
IN THE INTEREST OF H.A. AND W.A., CHILDREN
Submitted Date: August 19, 2021
On Appeal from the 307th District Court Gregg County, Texas Trial Court No. 2020-151-DR
Before Morriss, C.J., Burgess and Stevens, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
SCOTT E. STEVENS, JUSTICE
Mother has attempted to appeal from the trial court's July 20, 2021, denial of her motion to dismiss the Department of Family and Protective Services' (Department's) petition. The record before us does not include a written order denying the motion to dismiss. The issue before this Court is whether we have jurisdiction to hear the appeal. We conclude that we do not and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Generally, appellate courts review only final judgments and interlocutory orders specifically made appealable by statute. Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). The time for perfecting an appeal runs from the date the trial court signs the final judgment. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. "A trial court's oral pronouncement . . . [is] not an acceptable substitute for a written order." In re T.M., No. 13-14-00701-CV, 2015 WL 602089, at *1 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi Feb. 12, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.) (per curiam); see Founders Acquisition &Merger, Inc. v. Penny, No. 03-01-00155-CV, 2002 WL 389351, at *2 (Tex. App.-Austin Mar. 14, 2002, no pet.) (mem. op.). Further, a written order denying Mother's motion to dismiss the Department's petition would amount to an interlocutory, unappealable order in any event. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195; Schoolcraft v. Dep't of Family &Protective Servs., No. 06-05-00076-CV, 2005 WL 3487849, at *1 (Tex. App.-Texarkana Dec. 22, 2005, no pet.) (mem. op.).
By letter of August 4, 2021, we notified Mother of this potential defect in our jurisdiction and afforded her the opportunity to demonstrate proper grounds for our retention of the appeal. Although Mother responded to our letter, her response failed to demonstrate proper grounds for our retention of this appeal.
In light of the foregoing, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.