STATE OF LOUISIANA

6* COURT OF APPEAL

Yc- FIRST CIRCUIT

NO. 2020 CA 1227

C!"

VERSUS

HILLAR C. MOORE, III, DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Judgment Rendered: APR 16 2021

On Appeal from the 19th Judicial District Court Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana No. C694092

The Honorable Janice Clark, Judge Presiding

G. D. Plaintiff/Appellant, Crestview, Florida In Proper Person

Dylan C. Alge Counsel for Defendant/ Appellee, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Hillar C. Moore, III, District Attorney

BEFORE: WHIPPLE, C. J., WELCH AND WOLFE, JJ.

WOLFE, J.

G.D. instituted this suit to change the first name and surname of his biological

minor child. To his petition, G.D. attached ajudgment ordering that the child' s name be changed as requested. Across the judgment, the trial court wrote " Denied" and

Set for Hearing Contradictorily after Service of Process." G.D. appeals, contending that the name change should be granted.

Appellate courts have the duty to examine subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte, even when the parties do not raise the issue. Advanced Leveling & Concrete Solutions v. Lathan Company, Inc., 2017- 1250 ( La. App. 1st Cir.

12/ 20/ 18), 268 So. 3d 1044, 1046 ( en banc). This court' s jurisdiction extends to final

judgments and interlocutory judgments expressly provided by law. La. Code Civ.

P. art. 2083. A final judgment determines the merits in whole or in part. An

interlocutory judgment does not determine the merits, but only preliminary matters in the course of an action. La. Code Civ. P. art. 1841.

The trial court' s order denied, but did not dismiss, G. D.' s petition. Rather,

the trial court set the matter for a contradictory hearing. Since the order does not

determine the merits or terminate the suit, it is not a final judgment. See La. Code

Civ. P. art. 1841. The order is interlocutory in nature and is not one that the legislature has expressly provided the right for immediate appeal. See La. Code Civ. P. art. 968 ( providing that an appeal does not lie from the court' s refusal to render any judgment on the pleading). Accordingly, this court lacks subject matter to consider the merits of this appeal.

For the foregoing reasons, this appeal is dismissed at G.D.' s cost.

APPEAL DISMISSED.