Court Opinion

ID: 9399475
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-04 07:11:40.80092+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:58.975318
License: Public Domain

Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed June 1, 2023

                                       In The

                     Fourteenth Court of Appeals

                               NO. 14-23-00001-CV

                  FREDERICK GENE TAYLOR, Appellant
                                         V.
                    GENEVA LOUISE TAYLOR, Appellee

                    On Appeal from the 328th District Court
                            Fort Bend County, Texas
                     Trial Court Cause No. 20-DCV-273004

                          MEMORANDUM OPINION

      This is an attempted appeal from an order of clarification signed December
2, 2022. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 9.008. No post-judgment motion was filed.
Appellant’s notice of appeal was filed January 3, 2023. The notice of appeal must
be filed within 30 days after the final order is signed when appellant has not filed a
timely post-judgment motion. Appellant’s notice of appeal was due on January 2,
2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1; see also Wallace v. Wallace, No. 04-13-00014-CV,
2013 WL 1908398 (Tex. App.—San Antonio May 8, 2013, no pet.) (dismissal of
untimely appeal from a clarification order).

         Appellant’s notice of appeal was not filed timely. A motion to extend time is
necessarily implied when an appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of appeal
beyond the time allowed by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, but within
the 15-day grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion to extend time.
See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617–18 (1997) (construing the
predecessor to Rule 26). Appellant’s notice of appeal was filed within the 15-day
period provided by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3. Appellant did not,
however, 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., 974 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no
pet.).

         On April 18, 2023, we ordered appellant to file a proper motion to extend
time to file the notice of appeal within 10 days or the appeal would be dismissed
for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.4; 10.5(b); 42.3(a).

         Appellant filed no response. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

                                    PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Wise, Spain, and Hassan.

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