Vonda Barnhart v. Sylvia Morales and Luis Perez

Opinion

Order filed April 3, 2012.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals _____________

NO. 14-12-00167-CV ______________

VONDA BARNHART, Appellant

V.

SYLVIA MORALES AND LUIS PEREZ, Appellees

On Appeal from the 157th Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2010-17655

ORDER

This is an appeal from a judgment signed November 10, 2011. Appellant filed a timely motion for new trial. The notice of appeal was due February 8, 2012. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed the notice of appeal on February 10, 2012, 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 fifteen 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.CHouston [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.