Rucker, J.
The biological parent of a minor child attempted to appeal the trial court’s order granting an adoption petition in favor of third parties. Because the Notice of Appeal was not timely filed, the Court of Appeals dismissed the case on grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Although we affirm the trial court’s judgment, we conclude the untimely filing of a Notice of Appeal is not a jurisdictional bar precluding appellate review.
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…. We are of the view that our case authority characterizing as “jurisdictional” the timely filing of a Notice of Appeal is just such a misapprehension.
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In essence a party loses his or her right to appeal for failing to file timely a Notice of Appeal. The Rule is clear that under such circumstance “the right to appeal shall be forfeited.” App. R. 9(A)(5). But a party’s forfeiture—or loss of this right—does not also mean the appellate courts somehow lose their authority to hear and determine the general class of cases to which a party’s case belongs or over the party attempting to assert its right of appeal. Stated somewhat differently, although a party forfeits its right to appeal based on an untimely filing of the Notice of Appeal, this untimely filing is not a jurisdictional defect depriving the appellate courts of authority to entertain the appeal…. The untimely filing of a Notice of Appeal is not a jurisdictional defect depriving the appellate courts of the ability to entertain an appeal. Instead, the timely filing of a Notice of Appeal is jurisdictional only in the sense that it is a Rule-required prerequisite to the initiation of an appeal in the Court of Appeals. Timely filing relates neither to the merits of the controversy nor to the competence of the courts on appeal to resolve the controversy.
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Here, in light of Appellate Rule 1, Father’s attempt to perfect a timely appeal, and the constitutional dimensions of the parent-child relationship, we conclude that Father’s otherwise forfeited appeal deserves a determination on the merits.
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In sum not only does the record support the trial court’s conclusion that Father’s consent to the adoption of O.R. was not required, but the record also supports the trial court’s conclusion that the Adoptive Parents’ adoption of O.R. is in the child’s best interest. We find no error in this regard.
Conclusion
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Rush, C.J., and Dickson, David and Massa, JJ., concur.