Eligwe, LLC v. Larry Paul Manley Junior ( 2020 )

Order filed January 28, 2020
In The
Fourteenth Court of Appeals
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NO. 14-19-00985-CV
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CHUKWUEMEKA FRANK NWANKWO AND ELIGWE, LLC, Appellants
V.
LARRY PAUL MANLEY, JR., Appellee
On Appeal from the 127th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2018-53467
ORDER
This is an appeal from a judgment signed August 29, 2019. The notice of
appeal was due November 27, 2019. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellants,
however, filed the notice of appeal on December 11, 2019, 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). Appellants did not file a
motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal. While an extension may be
implied, appellants are 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.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no
pet.).
Accordingly, we ORDER appellants to file a proper motion to extend time
to file the notice of appeal on or before 10 days after the date of this order. See
Tex. R. App. P. 26.3;10.5(b). If appellants do not comply with this order, we will
dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Christopher and Bourliot.