in the Matter of the Marriage of Wolff

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Fourth Court of Appeals
San Antonio, Texas
March 24, 2021
No. 04-21-00057-CV
Lyn M. WOLFF,
Appellant
v.
Jason W. WOLFF,
Appellee
From the 150th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2019-CI-22278
Honorable Rosie Alvarado, Judge Presiding
ORDER
The trial court signed a final judgment on November 6, 2020. A motion for new trial, if
any, was due to be filed on or before December 7, 2020. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 329b(a). Appellant
filed a motion for new trial on December 10, 2020. Because appellant did not file a timely
motion for new trial, motion to modify the judgment, motion for reinstatement, or request for
findings of fact and conclusions of law, the notice of appeal was due to be filed on December 7,
2020. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. A motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was
due on December 22, 2020, within fifteen days after the deadline. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3.
Appellant did not file her notice of appeal until February 22, 2021. Appellant did not file a
motion for extension of time.
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
grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion for extension of time. See Verburgt v.
Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (construing the predecessor to Rule 26). But “once
the period for granting a motion for extension of time under Rule [26.3] has passed, a party can
no longer invoke the appellate court’s jurisdiction.” Id.Because it appears appellant’s notice of appeal was filed untimely, we order appellant to
show cause in writing within fifteen (15) days from the date of this order stating why this appeal
should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. All appellate deadlines are suspended pending
our determination of whether we have jurisdiction over this appeal.
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_________________________________
Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said
court on this 24th day of March, 2021.
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MICHAEL A. CRUZ, Clerk of Court