Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of September 23, 2019.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

In re A.F., W.J., A.J., & J.J., No. 02-19-00117-CV (Sept. 24, 2019) (Birdwell, J., joined by Bassel and Womack, JJ.).

Held: Appellants’ appeal from a judgment terminating their parental rights was governed by the current version of the termination statute, under which a failure to comply with the one-year dismissal deadline is jurisdictional.  Even though the Department of Family and Protective Services filed its SAPCR for termination in a paternity SAPCR filed by the Office of the Attorney General before the effective date of the current statute, the filing of the termination SAPCR was an “original proceeding” that did not relate back to the filing of the paternity SAPCR.  Because the trial court did not comply with the deadline, and the deadline could no longer be waived by the parents’ agreement or failure to file a motion to dismiss, the trial court lost jurisdiction before it granted termination, rendering its judgment void.