Kennard Law, PC v. Judith Clifford

Order filed December 22, 2020 In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________ NO. 14-20-00787-CV ____________ KENNARD LAW, PC, Appellant V. JUDITH CLIFFORD, Appellee On Appeal from the 234th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2020-01737 ORDER This is an appeal from an order signed October 27, 2020. The notice of appeal was due November 17, 2020. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed the notice of appeal on November 19, 2020, 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 Panel Consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Jewell and Poissant. 2