COURT OF APPEALS
EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EL PASO, TEXAS
§
No. 08-15-00091-CV
IN THE INTEREST OF M.H., §
Appeal from
A CHILD. §
65th District Court
§
of El Paso County, Texas
§
(TC # 2014DCM1307)
§
MEMORANDUM OPINION
A.B. is attempting to appeal an interlocutory order terminating his parental rights and he
has filed a motion asking the Court to abate the appeal until the trial court has entered a final
judgment. Finding that the termination order is interlocutory, we dismiss the appeal for lack of
jurisdiction.
It is well settled that appellate courts have jurisdiction over final judgments and
interlocutory orders made appealable by statute. Lehmann v. Har-Con Corporation, 39 S.W.3d
191, 195 (Tex. 2001); TEX.CIV.PRAC.&REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014 (West 2015)(authorizing
appeals from certain interlocutory orders). A final judgment is one that disposes of all pending
parties and claims. See Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 195.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services filed a petition seeking to
terminate the parental rights of both A.B., the child’s father, and G.H., the child’s mother. The
trial court entered an order terminating A.B.’s parental rights but the court has not yet made a
determination as to G.H.’s parental rights. In other words, a judgment has not been entered
disposing of all pending parties and claims. A.B. represents in his motion that a final hearing is
scheduled for June 15, 2015, but there is no guarantee that the hearing will occur on that date and
the trial court must be given a reasonable period of time in which to rule on the issues before it.
Appellate courts are required to dispose of an appeal from a judgment terminating parental rights
within 180 days after the notice of appeal is filed. See TEX.R.JUD.ADMIN. 6.2(a). The entry of
an abatement order does not toll that deadline. Rather than abating this appeal until such time
that the termination order becomes final, we have determined that the better course of action is to
dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. A.B. will be able to exercise his right to appeal when
the trial court enters a final judgment. Further, the Court will, upon motion filed by A.B.,
transfer the record filed in this case to the new appellate cause number. We therefore deny the
motion to abate the appeal and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
June 12, 2015
ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice
Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez, and Hughes, JJ.
-2-
in the Interest of M. H., a Child
Combined Opinion