Court Opinion

ID: 9363552
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-16 07:07:12.812118+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:32.572481
License: Public Domain

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE
                            FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON

                                             ORDER

Appellate case name:          Evergreen Environmental Services, L.L.C. v. Evoqua Water
                              Technologies, LLC
Appellate case number:        01-22-00925-CV
Trial court case number:      2022-48769
Trial court:                  164th District Court of Harris County
       On December 13, 2022, appellant, Evergreen Environmental Services, L.L.C., filed
a notice of appeal from the trial court’s November 8, 2022 order granting appellee, Evoqua
Water Technologies, LLC’s “Motion to Dismiss for Improper Venue and Motion to
Enforce Forum Selection Clause.” On January 3, 2023, appellant filed a “Motion for
Additional Time for Notice of Appeal.”
       Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, we lack jurisdiction over an appeal. See TEX.
R. APP. P. 25.1. Generally, a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days of the date
of the trial court’s judgment unless a party files certain post-judgment motions, in which
case the deadline is extended to ninety days. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a). Based on the
Court’s records, no post-judgment motion was filed extending the deadline. Accordingly,
based on the date the trial court’s order was signed, appellant’s notice of appeal was due
no later than December 8, 2022. Appellant’s December 13, 2022 notice of appeal was not
filed before this deadline.
       However, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3 allows for an extension of the
deadline to file a notice of appeal if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing a notice
of appeal, a party files a notice of appeal in the trial court and a motion for extension of
time to file a notice of appeal in the appellate court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. Taking this
extension into account, appellant’s notice of appeal and motion for extension of time to file
a notice of appeal were due no later than December 23, 2022. Appellant’s December 13,
2022 notice of appeal was filed within this extended period. However, appellant’s January
3, 2023 “Motion for Additional Time for Notice of Appeal,” was not filed within the
extended period.
      Notably however, we may imply a motion for extension of time to file a notice of
appeal where an appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of appeal within the
fifteen-day extended period provided in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3. See
Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). To be entitled to this “implied”
extension, “[i]t is still necessary . . . for an appellant to reasonably explain the need for an
extension.” See Smith v. Houston Lighting & Power Co., 7 S.W.3d 287, 289 (Tex. App.—
Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, no pet.).
        This Court has concluded that a “reasonable explanation means any plausible
statement of circumstances indicating that failure to file within the [required] period was
not deliberate or intentional, but was the result of inadvertence, mistake or mischance.” Id.
(internal quotations omitted). In its late-filed motion for extension of time to file notice of
appeal, appellant alleged that, while the trial court signed the order on November 8, 2022,
appellant “did not receive notice of the order until December 2, 2022.” We conclude that
this is a good faith, “reasonable explanation,” for the delay in appellant’s filing a notice of
appeal. See Hone v. Hanafin, 104 S.W.3d 884, 887 (Tex. 2003) (“[T]he court of appeals
should ordinarily accept the appellant's explanations as reasonable.”).
      Because appellant filed its notice of appeal within the fifteen-day extended period
provided by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3, we imply that appellant’s “Motion
for Additional Time for Notice of Appeal” was similarly timely filed. See id.; see also
Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617. Accordingly, appellant’s “Motion for Additional Time for
Notice of Appeal” is granted.
       It is so ORDERED.

Judge’s signature: _/s/ Amparo Guerra______________________________________
                    Acting individually  Acting for the Court

Date: ___January 12, 2023_____

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