Rita Lemons v. Don TrustClaire, Don Blake, Carlos Pena, Noe Gomez, Latecia Gomez, Berthel Martinez, and Estate of Leroy Lemons ( 2016 )

Opinion issued September 27, 2016
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-15-00899-CV
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RITA LEMONS, Appellant
V.
DON TRUSTCLAIRE, DON BLAKE, CARLOS PENA,
NOE GOMEZ, LATECIA GOMEZ, BERTHEL MARTINEZ,
AND ESTATE OF LEROY LEMONS, Appellees
On Appeal from the 240th District Court
Fort Bend County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 14-DCV-213790
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Rita Lemons, attempts to appeal the trial court’s “Partial Order
Dismissing Respondent Parties at Trial” signed on June 5, 2015. We dismiss the
appeal for want of jurisdiction because, even if the underlying order is appealable,
the notice of appeal of the order was untimely.
Generally, a notice of appeal is due within thirty days after the judgment is
signed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. The deadline to file a notice of appeal is extended
to ninety days after the date the judgment is signed if, within thirty days after the
judgment is signed, any party timely files a motion for new trial, motion to modify
the judgment, motion to reinstate, or, under certain circumstances, a request for
findings of fact and conclusions of law. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a); TEX. R. CIV. P.
329b(a), (g). The time to file a notice of appeal may also be extended if, within
fifteen days after the deadline to file the notice of appeal, a party properly files a
motion for extension. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b), 26.3. A motion for extension of
time is necessarily implied when an appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of
appeal beyond the time allowed by Rule 26.1, but within the fifteen-day extension
period provided by Rule 26.3. See TEX .R. APP. P. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner,
959 S.W.2d 615, 617–18 (Tex. 1997).
Here, the trial court signed the order from which appellant appeals on June
15, 2015 and no motion was filed that would extend the notice of appeal deadline.
Therefore, appellant’s notice of appeal was due by July 15, 2015. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 26.1. Appellant’s notice of appeal was not filed until September 11, 2015, fifty-
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eight days after the deadline. Without a timely filed notice of appeal, this Court lacks
jurisdiction over the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1.
On August 9, 2016, the Clerk of this Court notified the appellant that this
appeal was subject to dismissal for want of jurisdiction unless she demonstrated this
Court had jurisdiction over this appeal. Appellant failed to file an adequate response.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). We dismiss any pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Bland, Massengale, and Lloyd.
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