Opinion
No. 04-16-00124-CV
03-31-2016
IN THE INTEREST OF M.J.P.
From the 166th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2014-PA-00878
Honorable Karen Crouch, Judge Presiding
ORDER
Carla Morrison, as Guardian ad Litem and Attorney ad Litem for M.J.P., a minor child, filed a notice of appeal, stating her desire to appeal the trial court's judgment on competing petitions for adoption. A clerk's record and supplemental clerk's record have been filed.
It appears from the record that the trial court orally rendered a judgment on March 1, 2016. However, the record does not contain a written, signed judgment. A judgment is not final for purposes of appeal until it is reduced to writing and signed by the trial court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1; Farmer v. Ben E. Keith Co., 907 S.W.2d 495, 496 (Tex. 1995) (per curiam); Stokley v. Bank of New York Mellon, No. 05-15-00921-CV, 2015 WL 5286967, at *1 (Tex. App.—Dallas Sept. 10, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.); In Interest of T.M., No. 13-14-00701-CV, 2015 WL 602089, at *1 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Feb. 12, 2015, no pet.)(mem. op.).
Under Rule 27.2 we may treat a case that is appealed before the judgment is final as a prematurely filed appeal and permit the defect to be cured. We therefore order appellant must take action to ensure that a supplemental clerk's record containing a signed final judgment is filed in this court by April 20, 2016 or file a written response showing cause why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. If appellant fails to satisfactorily respond by the date ordered, the appeal will be dismissed. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(c). All deadlines in this matter are suspended until further order of the court.
/s/_________
Luz Elena D. Chapa, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 31st day of March, 2016.
/s/_________
Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court