John Leonard v. Spencer Tracy Knight

Opinion

Order filed February 9, 2017

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-16-00932-CV ____________

JOHN LEONARD, Appellant

V.

SPENCER TRACY KNIGHT, Appellee

On Appeal from the 189th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2015-23987

ORDER

This is an appeal from a judgment signed August 10, 2016. Appellant timely filed a post judgment motion. The notice of appeal was due November 8, 2016. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. On November 9, 2016, a date within 15 days of the due date for the notice of appeal, appellant mailed his notice of appeal to the district clerk. The clerk received the notice of appeal within 10 days of the due date for the notice of appeal. Accordingly, the notice of appeal is deemed to have been filed on November 9, 2016. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 5; see also Tex. R. App. P. 9.2(b)(1). 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 by February 21, 2017. 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