Newell M. Evans v. Theodore P. Fuller ( 2015 )

Order filed March 12, 2015
In The
Fourteenth Court of Appeals
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NO. 14-14-01019-CV
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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