L.J.N. v. State (In re D.J.)

L.J.N. v. State (In re D.J.)

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

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State of Utah, in the interest of D.J., R.J., M.N., R.E.N., and R.S.N., children under the age of eighteen years.

______________________________

L.J.N.,

Appellant,

v.

State of Utah,

Appellee.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)
 

Case No. 20040041-CA
 

F I L E D
(May 6, 2004)
 

2004 UT App 154

 

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Third District Juvenile, Salt Lake Department

The Honorable Sharon P. McCully

Attorneys: Gary L. Bell, South Jordan, for Appellant

Mark Shurtleff and John M. Peterson, Salt Lake City, for Appellee

Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian Ad Litem

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Before Judges Billings, Orme, and Thorne.

PER CURIAM:

L.J.N. seeks to appeal the order terminating her parental rights. This case is before the court on a sua sponte motion for summary dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

The jurisdictional facts are not disputed. The juvenile court entered its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order Terminating Parental Rights on November 3, 2003. A notice of appeal must have been filed on or before December 3, 2003. See Utah R. App. P. 4(a) (requiring notice of appeal to be filed within thirty days after entry of the order being appealed). L.J.N. filed a notice of appeal on January 13, 2004, which was beyond the thirty-day period for initiating an appeal.

"If an appeal is not timely filed, this court lacks jurisdiction to hear the appeal." Serrato v. Utah Transit Auth., 2000 UT App 299,¶7, 13 P.3d 616. L.J.N. does not dispute that this appeal was not timely filed, but requests that the appeal be allowed to proceed because she claims trial counsel was ineffective in not adequately informing her that there was a time limitation for filing an appeal from her relinquishment of parental rights. However, this court is precluded from extending the time for appeal. See Utah R. App. P. 2. Moreover, even the time limit to seek an extension from the juvenile court had expired prior to the date on which she filed her notice of appeal. See Utah R. App. P. 4(e) (allowing trial court to consider a motion to extend time to appeal if motion is filed within thirty days after expiration of the original thirty-day appeal period).

Once a court has concluded that it lacks jurisdiction, it "retains only the authority to dismiss the action." Varian-Eimac, Inc. v. Lamoreaux, 767 P.2d 569, 570 (Utah Ct. App. 1998). Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

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Judith M. Billings,

Presiding Judge

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Gregory K. Orme, Judge

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William A. Thorne Jr., Judge