Rule 28 — Accelerated and Permissive Appeals in Civil Cases

28.1.  Accelerated Appeals
(a) Types of Accelerated Appeals. Appeals from
interlocutory  orders  (when  allowed  by
statute), appeals  in  quo  warranto
proceedings,  appeals required by statute to
be accelerated or expedited, and appeals
required by law to be filed or perfected within
less than 30 days after the date of the order or
judgment being appealed are accelerated
appeals.
(b) Perfection of Accelerated Appeal. Unless
otherwise provided by statute, an accelerated
appeal is perfected by filing a notice of appeal
in compliance with Rule 25.1 within the time
allowed by Rule 26.1(b) or as extended by
Rule 26.3. Filing a motion for new trial, any
other post-trial motion, or a request for
findings of fact will not extend the time to
perfect an accelerated appeal.
(c) Appeals of Interlocutory Orders.   The trial
court need not file findings of fact and
conclusions of law but may do so within 30
days after the order is signed.
(d) Quo Warranto Appeals. The trial court may
grant a motion for new trial timely filed under
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 329b(a)–(b)
until 50 days after the trial court's final
judgment is signed.   If not determined by
signed written order within that period, the
motion will be deemed overruled by
operation of law on expiration of that period.
(e) Record and Briefs. In lieu of the clerk's
record, the appellate court may hear an
accelerated appeal on the original papers
forwarded by the trial court or on sworn and
uncontroverted copies of those papers. The
appellate  court  may  allow  the  case  to  be
submitted  without  briefs. The deadlines and
procedures for filing the record and briefs in
an accelerated appeal are provided in Rules
35.1 and 38.6.
[28.2 Repealed effective September 1, 2023]
28.3.  Permissive Appeals in Civil Cases.
(a) Petition Required.  When a trial court has
permitted an appeal from an interlocutory
order that would not otherwise be appealable,
a party seeking to appeal must petition the
court of appeals for permission to appeal.
(b) Where Filed.  The petition must be filed with
the clerk of the court of appeals having
appellate jurisdiction over the action in which
the order to be appealed is issued. The First
and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals must
determine in which of those two courts a
petition will be filed.
(c) When Filed.  The petition must be filed
within 15 days after the order to be appealed
is signed. If the order is amended by the trial
court, either on its own or in response to a
party’s motion, to include the court’s
permission to appeal, the time to petition the
court of appeals runs from the date the
amended order is signed.
(d) Extension of Time to File Petition.  The court
of appeals may extend the time to file the
petition if the party:
(1) files the petition within 15 days after the
deadline, and
(2) files a motion complying with Rule
10.5(b).
(e) Contents.  The petition must:
(1) contain the information required by Rule
25.1(d) to be included in a notice of
appeal;
(2) attach:
(A) a copy of the order from which
appeal is sought;
(B) a
copy
of
every
file-marked
document that is material to the
order from which appeal is sought
and that was filed in the trial court;
and
(C) a properly authenticated transcript
of any relevant testimony from the
underlying proceeding, including
any relevant exhibits offered in
evidence relating to the order from
which appeal is sought; a statement
that the transcript has been ordered
and will be filed when it is received;
or a statement that no evidence was
adduced in connection with such
order.
(3) contain a table of contents, index of
authorities, issues presented, and a
statement of facts; and
(4) argue clearly and concisely why the
order to be appealed involves a
controlling question of law as to which
there is a substantial ground for
difference of opinion and how an
immediate appeal from the order may
materially
advance
the
ultimate
termination of the litigation.
(f) Response; Reply; Cross-Petition; Time for
Filing.  If any party timely files a petition,
any other party may file a response or a cross-
petition within 10 days. A party may file a
response to a cross-petition within 10 days of
the date the cross-petition is filed. A
petitioner or cross-petitioner may reply to
any matter in a response within 7 days of the
date the response is filed. The court of
appeals may extend the time to file a
response, reply, and cross-petition.
(g) Length of Petition, Cross-Petition, Response,
and Reply.  A petition, cross-petition,
response, and reply must comply with the
length limitations in Rule 9.4(i)(2)(E) and
(H).
(h) Service.  A petition, cross-petition, response,
and reply must be served on all parties to the
trial court proceeding.
(i) Docketing Statement.  Upon filing the
petition, the petitioner must file the docketing
statement required by Rule 32.1.
(j) Time for Determination.  Unless the court of
appeals orders otherwise, a petition, and any
cross-petition, response, and reply, will be
determined without oral argument, no earlier
than 10 days after the petition is filed.
(k) When Petition Granted.  If the petition is
granted, a notice of appeal is deemed to have
been filed under Rule 26.1(b) on that date,
and the appeal is governed by the rules for
accelerated appeals. A separate notice of
appeal need not be filed. A copy of the order
granting the petition must be filed with the
trial court clerk.
(l) When Petition Denied. If the court of appeals
denies the petition, the court must explain in
its decision the specific reasons for its finding
that an appeal is not warranted. On petition
for review, the Supreme Court may review
the court of appeals’ denial de novo, and, if
the Supreme Court concludes that the
statutory prerequisites for a permissive
appeal are met, the Supreme Court may direct
the court of appeals to grant permission to
appeal.
28.4.
Accelerated
Appeals
in
Parental
Termination and Child Protection Cases and From
Orders Certifying a Child to Stand Trial as an
Adult
(a) Application and Definitions.
(1) Appeals in parental termination and
child protection cases and from an order
certifying a child to stand trial as an adult
are governed by the rules of appellate
procedure
for
accelerated
appeals,
except as otherwise provided in Rule
28.4.
(2) In Rule 28.4:
(A) a “parental termination case” means
a suit in which termination of the
parent-child relationship is at issue.
(B) a “child protection case” means a
suit
affecting
the
parent-child
relationship filed by a governmental
entity
for
managing
conservatorship.
(C) an “order certifying a child to stand
trial as an adult” is an order under
Family Code section 54.02 waiving
juvenile court jurisdiction and
transferring a child for prosecution
in a district or criminal district court.
(b) Appellate Record.
(1) Responsibility
for
Preparation
of
Reporter’s Record. In  addition  to  the
responsibility imposed on the trial court
in Rule 35.3(c), when the reporter’s
responsibility to prepare, certify and
timely file the reporter’s record arises
under Rule 35.3(b), the trial court must
direct the official or deputy reporter to
immediately commence the preparation
of the reporter’s record. The trial court
must arrange for a substitute reporter, if
necessary.
(2) Extension of Time.  The appellate court
may grant an extension of time to file a
record under Rule 35.3(c); however, the
extension or extensions granted must not
exceed 30 days cumulatively, absent
extraordinary circumstances.
(3) Restriction on Preparation Inapplicable.
Section 13.003 of the Civil Practice &
Remedies Code does not apply to an
appeal from a parental termination or
child protection case or an order
certifying a child to stand trial as an
adult.
(c) Remand for New Trial.   If the judgment of
the appellate court reverses and remands a
parental termination or child protection case
for a new trial, the judgment must instruct the
trial court to commence the new trial no later
than 180 days after the mandate is issued by
the appellate court.

Comment to 2011 Change: Section 51.014(d)-(f)
of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
amended in 2011, provides for appeals of orders not
otherwise appealable when permitted by the trial
court.  The 2011 amendments, which explicitly apply
only to cases commenced on or after September 1,
2011, eliminated the prior requirement that the parties
agree to the appeal and reinstated a requirement that
the court of appeals also permit the appeal.  Act of May
25, 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., ch. 203, §§ 3.01, 6.01
[HB274], amending Act of May 27, 2005, 79th Leg.,
R.S., ch. 1051 [HB1294], §§ 1-2, 2005 Tex. Gen.
Laws 3512, 3512-3513 and Act of May 17, 2001, 77th
Leg., R.S., Ch. 1389 [HB978], § 1.2001 Tex. Gen.
Laws 3575.  The amendments necessitated the
addition of Rule 28.3 and the adoption of Rule of Civil
Procedure 168, which governs the procedure for
obtaining permission to appeal from the trial court.
New Rule 283 applies only to appeals in cases that
were filed in the trial court on or after September 1,
2011. Rule 28.2 applies only to appeals in cases that
were filed in the trial court before September 1, 2011.
Rule of Civil Procedure 168 clarifies that the trial
court’s permission to appeal should be included in the
order to be appealed rather than in a separate order.
As stated in Rule 28.3(c), if a prior order containing
the trial court’s ruling is amended to include such
permission, the time for appeal runs from the amended
order. Rule 28.3(k) further clarifies that if the petition
is granted, appeal is thereby perfected, and the appeal
proceeds as an accelerated appeal, with all deadlines -
including deadlines and obligations for preparing the
record - running from the date the petition was granted.
A separate notice of appeal need not be filed.   The
petition procedure in Rule 28.3 is intended to be
similar to the Rule 53 procedure governing petitions
for review in the Supreme Court.
Comment to 2023 change: Rule 28.2 is repealed.
Rule 28.3 is amended to implement sections 51.014(g)
and (h) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code and
governs the procedure for all permissive appeals filed
after September 1, 2023. Rule 28.4 is amended to
implement Texas Family Code section 56.01(h-1).