Haven Chapel United Methodist Church v. William Michael Leebron II, E.J. King and Brazoria County Commissioner's Court

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 23, 2011
• Docket: 14-11-00625-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motion Granted, Dismissed, and Memorandum Opinion filed August 23, 2011.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-11-00625-CV

HAVEN CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, Appellant

V.

WILLIAM MICHAEL LEEBRON II, E.J. KING and

BRAZORIA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT, Appellees

On Appeal from the 149th District Court

Brazoria County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 62845

M E M O R A N D U M   O P I N I O N

This is an attempted appeal from an interlocutory order denying appellant’s request for a temporary injunction signed April 19, 2011.  On May 4, 2011, appellant filed a motion for reconsideration and a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law, which were denied on July 1, 2011.  Appellant’s notice of appeal was filed July 18, 2011.

An interlocutory order denying a request for a temporary injunction is appealable, but the appeal will be accelerated.  See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 51.014(a)(4); Tex. R. App. P. 28.1.  In an accelerated appeal, an appellant must file its notice of appeal within twenty days after the order is signed.  See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b).  Filing a motion for reconsideration or a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law will not extend the time to perfect the appeal.  See Tex. R. App. P. 28.1; Lushann Energy Intern. Inc. v. General Elec. Energy Rentals Inc., No. 14-04-00652-CV, 2004 WL 1899795 *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. denied) (mem.op.).  

Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3, an appellate court may extend the time to file a notice of appeal if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the appeal notice, the party files a notice of appeal in the trial court and a motion for extension of time in the court of appeals.  Hone v. Hanafin, 104 S.W.3d 884, 885-86 (Tex. 2003).  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, 617-18 (1997) (construing the predecessor to rule 26).  Appellant’s notice of appeal was not filed within the fifteen-day period for extensions.

On July 27, 2011, appellees E.J. King, Brazoria County Judge, and the Brazoria County Commissioner’s Court, filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not filed timely.  See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).  Appellant filed no response. 

Accordingly, we grant appellees’ motion.  The appeal is ordered dismissed for want of jurisdiction.  

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Brown, Boyce, and McCally.