Geronimo Energy LLC. v. Steve Gerdes

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 8, 2018
• Docket: 14-18-00032-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order filed March 8, 2018

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-18-00032-CV ____________

GERONIMO ENERGY LLC., Appellant

V.

STEVE GERDES, Appellee

On Appeal from the 269th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2017-57404

ORDER

This is an appeal from a final judgment signed December 22, 2017. The judgment grants a motion to dismiss under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 27.003. An appeal, whether interlocutory or not, from a trial court order on a motion to dismiss under chapter 27 is expedited. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.008(b).

An appeal statutorily required to be expedited is an accelerated appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 28.1(a). The notice of appeal in an accelerated appeal must be filed within 20 days after the date the judgment or order is signed. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b), 28.1(b).

In this case, the notice of appeal was due by January 11, 2018. Appellant’s notice of appeal was not filed until January 12, 2018.

A motion for extension of time is necessarily implied when the perfecting instrument is filed within 15 days of its due date. Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). Appellant did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal. While an extension may be implied, appellant is 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 appellant to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before March 19, 2018. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; 10.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

PER CURIAM