Newell M. Evans v. Theodore P. Fuller

Opinion

Order filed March 12, 2015

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-14-01019-CV ____________

NEWELL M. EVANS, Appellant

V.

THEODORE P. FULLER, Appellee

On Appeal from the 240th District Court Fort Bend County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 11-DCV-187877

ORDER

This is an appeal from a judgment signed December 22, 2014. Appellant did not file a timely post-judgment motion extending appellate timetables. The notice of appeal was due January 21, 2015. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed his notice of appeal on January 29, 2015, a date within 15 days of the due date for the notice of appeal. 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 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 12 days after the date of this order. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; 12.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

PER CURIAM