Seed to Harvest Real Estate, LLC v. Carolyn Turner

Opinion

ACCEPTED 15-25-00048-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 5/1/2025 2:18 PM CAUSE NO. 15-25-00048-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK FILED IN IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 15th COURT OF APPEALS FIFTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN AUSTIN, TEXAS 5/1/2025 2:18:13 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk

SEED TO HARVIST REAL ESTATE, LLC, Appellants v.

CAROLYN TURNER, Appellee

On Appeal from the 44th District Court, Dallas County, Texas Cause No. DC-22-05065

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

Chad A. Norcross SBN:24039513 NORCROSS LAW 9288 Wichita Trail Frisco, Texas 75033 (214) 368-9300 - tele (877) 846-3149 - fax chad.norcross@norcrosslaw.com

Attorney for Appellee, CAROLYN TURNER

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Page 1 of 5 COMES NOW, Appellee, Carolyn Turner, (“Appellee”), in the above-entitled action filing

this her Motion to Dismiss Appeal for Lack of Jurisdiction pursuant to the Texas Rules of

Appellate Procedure (“TRAP”), and in support thereof will respectfully show unto the court as

follows:

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

1. On November 20, 2024, the Honorable Judge of the trial court signed the Final Judgment in

this matter.

2. On December 18, 2024, the Plaintiff/Appellant timely filed a Motion for New Trial.

3. Pursuant to TRAP 26.1(a), the filing of a Motion for New Trial extends the deadline for

filing a Notice of Appeal (“NOA”) from 30 days to 90 days from the date the judgment is

signed. Therefore, the deadline to file an NOA in this case was February 18, 2025.

4. Additionally, Rule 26.3 of the TRAP provides a permissive 15-day grace period beyond the

filing deadline, allowing an appellant to file an NOA with a reasonable explanation for the

delay. To avail themselves of this extension, however, the appellant must expressly file the

NOA and provide a reasonable explanation during the grace period.

5. The maximum period allowed for filing an NOA with an extension under TRAP 26.1(a) and

26.3 is 105 days from the date the judgment is signed. This resulted in a final deadline of

March 5, 2025, in this case.

6. Plaintiff/Appellant failed to file the NOA within the 105-day period prescribed by TRAP

26.1(a) and 26.3. Instead, the NOA was filed 106 days after the judgment was signed, on

March 6, 2025.

7. Because the filing deadlines for an appeal are jurisdictional, the failure to timely file an

NOA deprives the appellate court of jurisdiction over this matter.

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Page 2 of 5 LEGAL STANDARD

1. Pursuant to TRAP 26.1, the standard deadline to file an NOA in a civil case is 30 days

after the judgment is signed unless a party files certain post-judgment motions, including a

Motion for New Trial, which extends the timeline to 90 days. In such cases, the grace

period provided under TRAP 26.3 permits an additional 15 days if the appellant files their

NOA with a reasonable explanation of the delay.

2. TRAP 2 forbids courts from suspending filing deadlines to create appellate jurisdiction

where none exists. Accordingly, a failure to comply with TRAP 26.1 or 26.3 is fatal to an

appeal.

3. TRAP 10.5(b) requires that a motion for an extension of time must contain a reasonable

explanation for the late filing of the NOA. The failure to meet the requirements of TRAP

26.3 and 10.5(b) negates the permissive grace period.

ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES

1. Plaintiff/Appellant’s March 6, 2025, filing of the NOA falls outside the combined 105-day

period prescribed by TRAP 26.1(a) and 26.3. No motion for an extension of time

accompanied by a reasonable explanation for the late filing was submitted within the grace

period.

2. Because the 105-day period expired on March 5, 2025, without the filing of an NOA or a

proper motion for an extension of time with a reasonable explanation, the appellate court

lacks jurisdiction over the present appeal.

3. The Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure do not provide for any special exception or

further extension for appellants proceeding as paupers that would apply to these

jurisdictional timelines. There is no indication from the record that any such rule would

otherwise render the appeal timely.

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Page 3 of 5 4. As a matter of law, once the jurisdictional filing deadline lapses, the appellate court is

without authority to consider the merits of the appeal.

5. Lastly, this case was recently transferred from the Fifth Court of Appeals to the Fifteenth

Court of Appeals. Jurisdictional requirements remain unchanged by such a transfer, and

the analysis under TRAP 26.1, 26.3, and 10.5(b) applies regardless of the appellate venue.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellee respectfully requests that this

Court grant her Motion and dismiss Plaintiff/Appellant’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Appellee

also prays for any further relief to which she may be justly entitled.

Respectfully submitted,

NORCROSS LAW

By:/s/ Chad A. Norcross Chad A. Norcross SBN: 24039513 9288 Wichita Trail Frisco, Texas 75033 Tel: (214) 368-9300 Fax: (877) 846-3149 chad.norcross@norcrosslaw.com

Attorney for Appellee

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Page 4 of 5 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

This is to certify that I conferred with the Appellant’s counsel, Gaylene Rogers Lonergan on May 1, 2025, and she indicated that she OPPOSES this motion. Tex. R. App. P. 10.1 (a)(5)

/s/ Chad A. Norcross Chad A. Norcross

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

This is to certify that on May 1, 2025, a true and correct copy of this document was served on Appellant’s counsel, Gaylene Rogers pursuant to the Tex. R. App. P. 9.5.

Via EServe Lonergan Law Firm, PLLC 12801 N. Central Expressway, Suite 150 Dallas, Texas 75234 grogers@lonerganlaw.com

MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION Page 5 of 5 Automated Certificate of eService This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system. The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules.

Chad Norcross Bar No. 24039513 chad.norcross@norcrosslaw.com Envelope ID: 100335682 Filing Code Description: Motion Filing Description: Motion to Dismiss Appeal for Lack of Jurisdiction Status as of 5/1/2025 2:25 PM CST

Associated Case Party: Seed to Harvest Real Estate, LLC

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Gaylene RogersLonergan grogers@lonerganlaw.com 5/1/2025 2:18:13 PM SENT

Associated Case Party: Carolyn Turner

Alicia Fernandez alicia.fernandez@norcrosslaw.com 5/1/2025 2:18:13 PM SENT

Jessica E.Mayfield jessica.mayfield@norcrosslaw.com 5/1/2025 2:18:13 PM SENT

Chad A.Norcross chad.norcross@norcrosslaw.com 5/1/2025 2:18:13 PM SENT