Notice of appeal untimely when . . .

This timeline led the Fifth Court to deny a request for leave to file a late notice of appeal:

• December 15, 2020. Trial court signs a final divorce decree.
• January 14, 2021. Appellants first learn of the decree by seeing it on the court’s docket. They file a motion for new trial that same day.
• March 15, 2021 became the new deadline for filing a notice of appeal.
• March 25, 2021 was when Appellants filed their notice of appeal.

The Court found the grounds in the motion for leave unpersuasive, noting: “[A]lthough counsel and her firm may have been preoccupied with other matters between February 15 and March 5, and counsel may have been busy handling an emergency after that time, appellants fail to explain how this prevented them from timely filing the notice of appeal.” In the Interest of D.M., No. 05-21-00185-CV (May 21, 2021) (mem. op.).