Full Opinion

Opinion filed November 5, 2026 In The Eleventh Court of Appeals __________ No. 11-26-00255-CV __________ IN THE INTEREST OF R.T., A CHILD On Appeal from the 266th District Court Erath County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. CV33154 MEMORANDUM OPINION On September 22, 2026, Appellant filed an untimely notice of appeal from the trial court’s final order that modified the parent-child relationship. We dismiss the appeal. When this appeal was docketed, we notified Appellant by letter that the notice of appeal appeared to be untimely. In our letter, we requested that Appellant submit a response showing grounds to continue the appeal. In response, Appellant filed a motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal and requested seven additional days from the date we grant his motion, if we did, and that we “deem Appellant’s notice of appeal timely filed.” We note that Appellant’s motion for extension of time provides a partial explanation for the untimeliness of the notice of appeal, however, it does not show grounds upon which this appeal may continue. Appellee opposes Appellant’s motion and asserts that, because “[b]oth filings fell substantially outside the fifteen-day grace period that [Rule 26.3] allows,” we lack jurisdiction over the appeal. The trial court signed its final order on July 31, 2026, which recites, among other things, that both Appellant and his attorney were present in court at the time the trial court orally rendered its ruling. Appellant’s attorney received notice that the trial court signed the final order on the same day it was signed. Appellant’s notice of appeal was not filed until September 22, 2026. In his motion, Appellant’s attorney concedes that it was his mistake in failing to notice that the final order had been signed, because he “did not realize he had received more than only the [proposed order] filed with the Court.” At a minimum, Appellant and his attorney were aware by September 6, 2026, that the final order had been signed. Neither Appellant’s notice of appeal nor his motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal address the reason for his delay in filing this appeal after September 6 had passed. Appellant did not timely file his notice of appeal or his motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal from the trial court’s final order. TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1, 26.1, 26.3. The documents on file in this appeal show that the trial court signed its final order in the underlying proceedings on July 31, 2026. Appellant did not file any postjudgment motion that would have extended the time to file the notice of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1 (The notice of appeal must be filed within ninety days if any party timely files certain postjudgment motions or a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law.). As a result, Appellant was required to file the notice of appeal no later than August 31, 2026. See id. 2 Following his discovery of the untimely filed notice of appeal, and to invoke our jurisdiction, Appellant was required to file a motion for extension of time no later than September 15, 2026. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (A party can no longer invoke an appellate court’s jurisdiction once the period for granting a motion for extension of time has passed.). He did not. Instead, Appellant filed his notice of appeal on September 22, 2026, after the deadlines to file the notice of appeal and a motion for extension of time to file such a notice had expired. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1, 26.3. We are prohibited from suspending the Rules of Appellate Procedure “to alter the time for perfecting an appeal in a civil case.” TEX. R. APP. P. 2. Absent a timely notice of appeal, this court is without jurisdiction to consider this appeal. See Wilkins v. Methodist Health Care Sys., 160 S.W.3d 559, 564 (Tex. 2005); Garza v. Hibernia Nat’l Bank, 227 S.W.3d 233, 233–34 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, no pet.); see also Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617. Because we are without jurisdiction, we must dismiss this appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. We also dismiss Appellant’s motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal as moot. W. STACY TROTTER JUSTICE November 5, 2026 Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J., Trotter, J., and Williams, J. 3