Debra v. Jennings, Esq. and Debra v. Jennings, P.L.L.C. v. American Asset Finance, L.L.C.

Opinion

Order filed June 30, 2015

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

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NO. 14-14-00860-CV

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DEBRA V. JENNINGS, ESQ. AND DEBRA V. JENNINGS, P.L.L.C., Appellants

V.

AMERICAN ASSET FINANCE, L.L.C., Appellee

On Appeal from the County Civil Court at Law No. 4 Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 1030758-401

ORDER

This is an accelerated appeal from an interlocutory order appointing a receiver signed September 17, 2014. The notice of appeal was due October 7, 2014. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b); Tex. R. App. P. 28.1(b); Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(a)(1) (West 2015). Appellants, however, filed their notice of appeal on October 16, 2014, a date within 15 days of the due date for the notice of appeal. A motion for extension of time is necessarily implied when the

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perfecting instrument is filed within 15 days of its due date. Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). Appellants did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal. While an extension may be implied, appellants are still obligated to come forward with a reasonable explanation to support the late filing. See Miller v. Greenpark Surgery Center Assocs., Ltd., 974 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.).

Accordingly, we ORDER appellants to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before July 10, 2015. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; Tex. R. App. P. 10.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

Pending motions will be ruled on after the jurisdictional determination is made. The parties should not file briefs on the merits until the court rules on the appellants’ motion to file an amended brief.

PER CURIAM