Labib Helmy Fanous v. Allstate Insurance

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth)
• Decided: March 19, 2026
• Docket: 02-26-00113-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-26-00113-CV ___________________________

LABIB HELMY FANOUS, Appellant

V.

ALLSTATE INSURANCE, Appellee

On Appeal from the 89th District Court Wichita County, Texas Trial Court No. DC89-CV2024-2109

Before Womack, Wallach, and Walker, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Labib Helmy Fanous attempts to appeal from the trial court’s

“Order Granting Defendant’s Amended Motion for Summary Judgment” signed on

October 31, 2025 (the Order).1 Because Fanous timely filed a motion for new trial,

his notice of appeal was due January 29, 2026—ninety days after the Order’s signing.

See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a)(1). But Fanous did not file his notice of appeal until

February 19, 2026, making it untimely. See id.

We notified the parties by letter of our concern that we lack jurisdiction over

this appeal because the notice of appeal was untimely. See id. We warned that we

could dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction unless Fanous or any party wanting

to continue the appeal filed a response showing grounds for continuing it. See Tex. R.

App. P. 42.3(a), 44.3. Although we received a response from Fanous, it does not

show grounds for continuing the appeal.2

1 Fanous’s notice of appeal ostensibly attempts to appeal from the trial court’s order denying his motion for new trial. However, an order denying a motion for new trial is not independently appealable. Soliz v. J & B Hicks, Inc., No. 01-23-00604-CV, 2024 WL 3707578, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 8, 2024, no pet.) (per curiam) (mem. op.). Indeed, “the time for filing a notice of appeal runs from the signing of the final judgment, not the subsequent denial of a motion for new trial.” Morris v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 01-19-00610-CV, 2019 WL 4677365, at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Sept. 26, 2019, no pet.) (per curiam) (mem. op.). 2 In his response, Fanous states that he “was not able to submit [his] appeal earlier as [he] was scheduled for a [c]ourt [h]earing in person on January 21, 2026[,] and [he] did not want to alienate the [j]udge by filing an appeal.”

2 The time for filing a notice of appeal is jurisdictional in this court, and without

a timely filed notice of appeal or a timely filed extension request, we must dismiss the

appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 2, 25.1(b), 26.1, 26.3; Jones v. City of Houston, 976 S.W.2d

676, 677 (Tex. 1998); Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). Because

Fanous’s notice of appeal was untimely, we dismiss this appeal for want of

jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f); Amick v. Campbell, No. 02-24-00540-

CV, 2025 WL 285339, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Jan. 23, 2025, no pet.) (mem.

op.) (“Because Amick’s notice of appeal was untimely, we dismiss this appeal for want

of jurisdiction.”).

/s/ Dana Womack

Dana Womack Justice

Delivered: March 19, 2026