Motion for New Trial Fails to Extend Deadline for Accelerated Appeal in Termination Case

Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam, 04-25-00811-CV, February 11, 2026.

On appeal from Unknown

Synopsis

In parental termination proceedings, the filing of a motion for new trial does not extend the jurisdictional deadline to file a notice of appeal. Because these cases are governed by the rules for accelerated appeals, the notice of appeal must be filed within 20 days of the signing of the order, and failure to meet this strict deadline results in dismissal for want of jurisdiction.

Relevance to Family Law

This holding serves as a critical warning for family law practitioners handling termination of parental rights and other accelerated matters under the Texas Family Code. In standard civil litigation, a timely filed motion for new trial extends the appellate timetable to 90 days; however, in the context of parental termination, that reliance is fatal to the appeal. This distinction is paramount in child protection litigation where the state’s interest in finality overrides the traditional procedural extensions granted in other areas of family law, such as complex property divisions or standard custody modifications not involving termination.

Case Summary

Fact Summary

The underlying dispute involved a suit to terminate Father’s parental rights to his child, C.M.R., initiated in November 2024. Despite Father filing an original answer in May 2025, he failed to appear or prevail at the final hearing setting. Consequently, the trial court entered a default judgment terminating Father’s parental rights on September 16, 2025. Father followed a traditional post-judgment strategy by filing a motion for new trial on October 14, 2025. The trial court did not rule on the motion until December 15, 2025. Believing his appellate clock was tied to the disposition of his motion for new trial, Father did not file his notice of appeal until December 12, 2025—87 days after the judgment was signed.

Issues Decided

The primary issue before the Fourth Court of Appeals was whether the court maintained jurisdiction over an appeal where the notice of appeal was filed more than 20 days after the final order, but within the timeframe typically allowed when a motion for new trial is pending. Additionally, the court addressed whether a party may independently appeal the denial of a motion for new trial when the underlying judgment was not timely appealed.

Rules Applied

The court relied on Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.4(a)(1), which mandates that appeals in parental termination cases are governed by the rules for accelerated appeals. Under Rules 26.1(b) and 28.1(b), a notice of accelerated appeal must be filed within 20 days after the judgment or order is signed. Crucially, Rule 28.1(b) explicitly states that while a motion for new trial may be filed in the trial court, it “will not extend the time to perfect an accelerated appeal.” Regarding the independent appealability of post-judgment motions, the court cited Digges v. Knowledge All., Inc. and the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, noting that appellate jurisdiction is generally limited to final judgments and specific authorized interlocutory orders, which do not include the denial of a motion for new trial.

Application

The court’s application of the law was a straightforward chronological analysis of the jurisdictional milestones. The signing of the termination order on September 16, 2025, triggered a strict 20-day window for Father to perfect his appeal. This placed the deadline at October 6, 2025. Although Father filed a motion for new trial within the trial court’s plenary window, the court noted that Rule 28.1(b) creates a bifurcated track: the motion for new trial preserves certain points of error for the trial court’s consideration, but it remains entirely decoupled from the appellate perfection deadline.

Father’s notice of appeal, filed 87 days post-judgment, fell significantly outside the mandatory 20-day window. When the Fourth Court issued a show-cause order, Father’s response failed to provide a jurisdictional basis for the delay, instead seeking clarification on whether the denial of the motion for new trial could be reviewed independently. The court rejected this notion, explaining that the right to appeal stems from the final judgment of termination, not the subsequent refusal to grant a new trial.

Holding

The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the notice of appeal was untimely under the accelerated rules. The court emphasized that the 20-day deadline is absolute and not subject to the extensions typically afforded by post-judgment motions in non-accelerated cases.

Furthermore, the court held that an order denying a motion for new trial is not an independently appealable order. Because the underlying termination order was not timely appealed, the Father could not circumvent the jurisdictional defect by attempting to appeal the trial court’s subsequent refusal to set aside the default judgment.

Practical Application

Practitioners must treat the 20-day deadline in termination cases as a hard jurisdictional wall. If you are representing a parent following a termination order—especially a default—the notice of appeal should be filed simultaneously with, or immediately following, the motion for new trial. Do not wait for a hearing on the motion for new trial to “see how the judge rules.” If the 20-day window is missed, the only remaining remedy is often a restricted appeal (if applicable) or a collateral attack via bill of review, both of which carry much higher evidentiary burdens and narrower scopes of review.

Checklists

Protecting the Appellate Record in Termination Cases

• Calendar the Deadline Immediately: Calculate 20 days from the date the judge signs the order, not the date of the oral rendition.
• File “Protective” Notices: File the notice of appeal within the 20-day window even if you believe the trial court is likely to grant your motion for new trial.
• Monitor Rule 26.3 Extensions: If the 20-day deadline is missed, you have a 15-day grace period to file the notice along with a motion for extension of time, but this must be done within 35 days of the judgment.
• Verify Case Classification: Confirm whether the case is governed by Rule 28.4 (termination/SAPCR cases brought by the Department or certain private terminations) to ensure accelerated rules apply.

Handling Default Terminations

• Parallel Tracking: Prepare the Motion to Set Aside Default/Motion for New Trial and the Notice of Appeal concurrently.
• Jurisdictional Responses: If served with a show-cause order regarding jurisdiction, address the timing of the notice of appeal specifically; do not rely on the merits of the underlying case or the motion for new trial.
• Independent Orders: Recognize that the denial of a motion for new trial is not an interlocutory order subject to appeal under CPRC § 51.014.

Citation

In the Interest of C.M.R., a Child, No. 04-25-00811-CV (Tex. App.—San Antonio Feb. 11, 2026, no pet.) (per curiam).

Full Opinion

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