Fisher v. Fisher

IN THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS
 

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Merlin Kevin Fisher,

Petitioner and Appellant,

v.

Rosanne T. Fisher,

Respondent and Appellee.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)
 

Case No. 20040707-CA
 

F I L E D
(December 16, 2004)
 

2004 UT App 481

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Third District, Salt Lake Department

The Honorable Tyrone E. Medley

Attorneys: Merlin Kevin Fisher, Heber, Appellant Pro Se

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Before Judges Billings, Bench, and Greenwood.

PER CURIAM:

    Merlin Kevin Fisher seeks to appeal the trial court's rulings after a bench trial on July 20, 2004. This is before the court on its own motion for summary disposition due to lack of jurisdiction based on the absence of a final order.

    Disputes regarding parent time, child support, and alleged contempt were tried before the trial court. The trial court ruled from the bench and memorialized the rulings in an unsigned minute entry. Counsel for Fisher's wife was directed to prepare an order. Fisher filed his notice of appeal in August 2004, appealing the rulings from July 20. However, the only documentation of the trial court's ruling is the unsigned minute entry. No final order from the trial court has been entered.

    This court has jurisdiction over appeals taken from only final judgments and orders, or those qualified for specified exceptions not applicable here. See Utah R. App. P. 3; Loffredo v. Holt, 2001 UT 97,¶10, 37 P.3d 1070. "It is well settled that an unsigned minute entry does not constitute an entry of judgment, nor is it a final judgment for purposes of appeal." Ron Shepherd Ins. v. Shields, 882 P.2d 650, 653 (Utah 1994). The minute entry Fisher seeks to appeal is not a final appealable order. In the absence of a final order, this court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal. See Loffredo, 2001 UT 97 at ¶¶10-11.

    Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed without prejudice to the filing of a timely notice of appeal from a final order.

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Judith M. Billings,

Presiding Judge

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Russell W. Bench,

Associate Presiding Judge

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Pamela T. Greenwood, Judge