Ilsa Pen Bonham and Texas Hampton Investments v. Texas American Title Company

Opinion issued January 16, 2014 In The Court of Appeals For The First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-13-00772-CV ——————————— ILSA PEN BONHAM AND TEXAS HAMPTON INVESTMENTS, Appellants V. TEXAS AMERICAN TITLE COMPANY, Appellee On Appeal from the 11th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2011-20060 MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellants, Ilsa Pen Bonham and Texas Hampton Investments, attempt to appeal from the trial court’s judgment signed May 6, 2013. Appellee, Texas American Title Company, has filed a motion to dismiss this appeal, contending that appellants’ notice of appeal was untimely. We grant the motion and dismiss the appeal. Generally, a notice of appeal is due within thirty days after the judgment is signed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. The deadline to file a notice of appeal is extended to 90 days after the date the judgment is signed if, within 30 days after the judgment is signed, any party files a motion for new trial, motion to modify the judgment, motion to reinstate, or, under certain circumstances, a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law. Id.; TEX. R. CIV. P. 329b(a), (g). The time to file a notice of appeal may also be extended if, within 15 days after the deadline to file the notice of appeal, a party properly files a motion for extension. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b), 26.3. 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 15-day extension period provided by Rule 26.3. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). Here, the trial court signed the final judgment on May 6, 2013. Appellants timely filed a motion for new trial on May 15, 2013. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 329b(a). Therefore, appellants’ notice of appeal was due by August 5, 2013. See TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1(a), 26.1. 2 Appellants untimely filed their notice of appeal on September 4, 2013. Without a timely filed notice of appeal, this Court lacks jurisdiction over the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1. Accordingly, we grant appellee’s motion and dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). We dismiss any pending motions as moot. PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Bland, and Brown. 3