Merry Homes, Inc. v. Luc Dao

Order filed October 6, 2016 In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________ NO. 14-16-00724-CV ____________ MERRY HOMES, INC., Appellant V. LUC DAO, Appellee On Appeal from the 151st District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2009-25771 ORDER This is an appeal from a judgment signed June 2, 2016. Appellant timely filed a post judgment motion. The notice of appeal was due August 31, 2016. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed the notice of appeal on September 14, 2016, 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 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