Meandering Bend, LLC and ATX Tillery, LLC v. Paul A. Saustrup

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 3rd District (Austin)
• Decided: June 19, 2026
• Docket: 03-26-00386-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

NO. 03-26-00386-CV

Meandering Bend, LLC and ATX Tillery, LLC, Appellants

v.

Paul A. Saustrup, Appellee

FROM THE 98TH DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY NO. D-1-GN-22-000790, THE HONORABLE JESSICA MANGRUM, JUDGE PRESIDING

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellants Meandering Bend, LLC and ATX Tillery, LLC filed a notice of appeal

on April 20, 2026. The record in this case reveals that the trial court signed a final judgment on

March 5, 2026, and that appellants filed a motion for new trial on April 20, 2026.

Timely filing of a notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court’s appellate

jurisdiction. Texas Ent. Ass’n v. Combs, 431 S.W.3d 790, 796 (Tex. App.—Austin 2014, pet.

denied); see Tex. R. App. P. 25.1(b) (noting that appeal is perfected when written notice of

appeal is filed). A notice of appeal generally must be filed within thirty days after the judgment

is signed. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. However, the filing of certain post-judgment motions, including

a timely motion for new trial, will extend the deadline to ninety days after the judgment is

signed. See id. R. 26.1(a); see also id. R. 5 (providing that trial court may not enlarge time

period for any action related to new trials except as provided by rules). Appellants’ motion for new trial was due on or before April 4, 2026, but because

that date was a Saturday, the motion was due April 6, 2026. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 4, 329b. Their

motion for new trial, filed April 20, 2026, was therefore untimely, and its filing did not extend

the deadline for filing a notice of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a). Thus, the deadline for

appellants’ notice of appeal was April 6, 2026, unless extended by this Court’s granting of a

motion to extend filed within fifteen days of that date. See id. R. 26.3. Appellants did not file a

motion for extension of time to file their notice of appeal. On May 22, 2026, this Court

requested a response from appellants by June 1, 2026, explaining how this Court may exercise

jurisdiction over this appeal and informing them that their appeal may be dismissed for want of

jurisdiction unless they timely respond and demonstrate jurisdiction. To date, appellants have

not responded to that query.

Appellants’ untimely motion for new trial did not extend the deadline to file their

notice of appeal, and their notice of appeal was untimely. We therefore lack jurisdiction over

this appeal and accordingly dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P.

42.3(a).

__________________________________________ Karin Crump, Justice

Before Chief Justice Byrne, Justices Theofanis and Crump

Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction

Filed: June 19, 2026