George Thomas v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.
George Thomas v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.
Opinion
On June 21, 2005, George Thomas filed notice of appeal. On October 14, 2005, the appellee, Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., filed a motion to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The trial court signed its final judgment - an agreed order to dismiss the case with prejudice - on December 14, 2004. Thomas filed a motion to set aside the order on March 11, 2005, more than thirty days from the date of judgment, and subsequently served interrogatories and requests for production on the opposing party. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., moved to dismiss the discovery and for sanctions. On June 22, 2005, the trial court signed an order that dismissed Thomas's motion for want of jurisdiction, halted discovery, and declined to impose sanctions on Thomas.
Notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days of judgment. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Thomas filed the motion to set aside the order more than thirty days after judgment and thus failed to invoke the extended timetable for perfecting appeal. The notice of appeal filed on June 21, 2005, did not invoke appellate jurisdiction over the judgment signed December 14, 2004. The trial court's order of June 22, 2005, neither modified nor enforced the judgment. 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). Thomas filed his motion and the trial court entered the order in this case after the trial court's plenary power expired. Tex. R. Civ. P. 329b. Because notice of appeal was not made within thirty days of an appealable order, it failed to invoke our jurisdiction. Accordingly, the appellee's motion to dismiss is granted and the appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
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HOLLIS HORTON
Justice
Opinion Delivered November 17, 2005
Before Gaultney, Kreger and Horton, JJ.
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