James P. Grantham v. J&B Sausage Company, Inc., D/B/A J Bar B Foods, and Eggleston & Briscoe, LLP

Order filed March 26, 2015 In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________ NO. 14-15-00227-CV ____________ JAMES P. GRANTHAM, Appellant V. J&B SAUSAGE COMPANY, INC., D/B/A J BAR B FOODS, AND EGGLESTON & BRISCOE, LLP, Appellees On Appeal from the County Civil Court at Law No. 4 Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1053476 ORDER This is an appeal from a judgment signed December 3, 2014. The notice of appeal was due March 3, 2015. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed the notice of appeal on March 13, 2015, 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). Appellant did not 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., Ltd., 974 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.). Accordingly, we ORDER appellant 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 appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3. PER CURIAM