Bexar Appraisal Review Board v. Lucifer Lighting Company

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 28, 2022
• Docket: 04-21-00556-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas January 28, 2022

No. 04-21-00556-CV

BEXAR APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD, Appellant

v.

LUCIFER LIGHTING COMPANY, Appellee

From the 37th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2021-CI-09696 Honorable Norma Gonzales, Judge Presiding

ORDER Appellant appeals from the trial court’s order denying its plea to the jurisdiction. An appeal from such an order is accelerated. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 51.014(a)(8). The trial court signed the order on October 27, 2021. Because this is an accelerated appeal, the notice of appeal was due November 16, 2021. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). A motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was due on December 1, 2021. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. Although appellant filed a notice of appeal within the fifteen-day grace period allowed by Rule 26.3, it did not file a motion for extension of time.

A motion for extension of time is necessarily implied when an appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of appeal beyond the time allowed by Rule 26.1 but within the fifteen-day grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion for extension of time. See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (construing the predecessor to Rule 26). However, the appellant must offer a reasonable explanation for failing to file the notice of appeal in a timely manner. See id.; TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3, 10.5(b)(1)(C).

We therefore ORDER appellant to file, within fifteen days from the date of this order, a written response presenting a reasonable explanation for failing to file the notice of appeal in a timely manner. If appellant fails to respond within the time provided, the appeal will be dismissed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c).

Further, appellant’s brief was due January 11, 2022, but has not been filed. We ORDER appellant to file, on or before February 17, 2022 its appellant’s brief and a written response reasonably explaining (1) its failure to timely file the brief and (2) why appellee is not significantly injured by appellant’s failure to timely file a brief. If appellant fails to file a brief and the written response by the date ordered, its appeal will be dismissed for want of prosecution. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(a); see also TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c) (allowing involuntary dismissal if appellant has failed to comply with a court order).

_________________________________ Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 28th day of January, 2022.

___________________________________ MICHAEL A. CRUZ, Clerk of Court