Court Opinion

ID: 9667519
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:47:54.920251+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:38.603821
License: Public Domain

*297Motion for Extension of Time No. 11,724.
GRAY, Justice.
Appellant has filed his motion for an extension of time in which to file the record in this cause.
On May 28, 1956, the trial court rendered a summary judgment for appellees to which judgment appellant excepted and gave notice of appeal to this Court. The record was not filed in this Court within the sixty-day period from May 28, and on August 7, 1956, appellant filed his motion wherein he alleges:
“That immediately following the rendition of Judgment in this cause, that the Transcript was requested of the Clerk and thereafter, on June 4, 1956, the Clerk was advised of the matters to be included in the Transcript, and appellant’s counsel believed that the Clerk, as is customary, would forward the original Transcript to the Court of Civil Appeals; that thereafter, appellant’s counsel left on his • vacation on July 18, 1956, and for the first time learned today by telegram from the Clerk of the Court of Civil Appeals that the original Transcript had been sent to this office and that same had arrived during his absence and that the secretaries in this office did not forward same to the Clerk for filing until August 3, 1956, even though they had received instructions that upon receipt of the duplicate Transcript, to send a cost deposit to the Court of Civil Appeals for filing, and appellant would show that the foregoing facts constitute good cause for failing to file this Transcript within the 60-day period provided by law and appellant would show that this motion has been filed prior to the expiration of the 75-day period provided by Rule 386, Rules of Civil Procedure of Texas, and plaintiff alleges that the foregoing facts constitute good cause for failing to file the Transcript in this cause sooner than same was actually filed herein.”
The telegram from the Clerk of this Court to appellant’s attorney and shown in the record before us is dated August 7, 1956.
In order to perfect an appeal from the above judgment Rule 386, Texas Rules .of Civil Procedure, required that the transcript and statement of facts be filed in this Court within sixty days from May 28 unless such time is extended by a motion filed within fifteen days after the expiration of such sixty-day period showing good cause existing within the sixty-day period why such transcript and statement of facts could not be so filed.
The only question presented is': Docs the motion show the existence of good cause for not filing the record within sixty days from May 28? The question has been decided adversely to appellant by our Supreme Court in Matlock v. Matlock, 151 Tex. 308, 249 S.W.2d 587, 590. There the facts before the court were similar to the facts here and the court said:
“In the motion of respondent for leave to file the record out of time she made no attempt to show that it could not have been filed within the sixty-day period. To the contrary, the motion affirmatively discloses that it could have been filed within that period. Both the transcript and the statement of facts were in the hands of respondent’s attorneys several days before the expiration of the sixty-day period, and the reason stated in the motion for not filing the same within the sixty-day period was that one of respondent’s attorneys had understood that upon receipt of said record the secretary of his firm had delivered the same to the Railway Express Company to be delivered to the Clerk of the Court of Civil Appeals for filing within the sixty-day period. That cannot be held to have been a good cause why the *298record could not have been filed within that period.”
■ By a certificate of the district clerk it is shown that:
’ “ * * * the transcript and copy was prepared by this office and mailed through the United States Mail to John J. Watts P. O. Box 1031, Odessa, Texas on the 16th day of July A.D. 1956.”
It is not shown when the transcript was received in the office of appellant’s attorney and it is neither alleged nor shown that it was not so received prior to the expiration of the sixty-day period but it is shown that it was mailed ten days prior to the sixtieth day after May 28.
• At most appellant says: (1) that he believed the clerk of the trial court would forward the transcript to this Court for filing, and (2) that it was received in the office of his attorney but was not forwarded to this Court for filing until August 3— .seven days after the time for filing it had expired.
There is no showing that good cause existed for not filing the transcript in this Court within sixty days from May 28 and appellant’s motion for an extension of time in which to so file the same is overruled. Matlock v. Matlock, supra.
Motion overruled.