NUMBER 13-16-00625-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
___________________________________________________________
JEFFREY M. LORENCE, Appellant,
v.
APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD OF
CAMERON COUNTY, Appellee,
____________________________________________________________
On appeal from the 445th District Court
of Cameron County, Texas.
____________________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Benavides and Hinojosa
Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam
Appellant, Jeffery M. Lorence, attempted to perfect an appeal from a judgment
entered by the 445th District Court of Cameron County, Texas, in cause number 2014-
DCL-01549-I. Judgment in this cause was signed on October 5, 2016. No motion for
new trial was filed.
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1 provides that an appeal is perfected when
notice of appeal is filed within thirty days after the judgment is signed, unless a motion for
new trial is timely filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a)(1). Where a timely motion for new trial
has been filed, notice of appeal shall be filed within ninety days after the judgment is
signed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a).
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
fifteen-day grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion for extension of time.
See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617-18, 619 (1997) (construing the predecessor
to Rule 26). However, appellant must provide a reasonable explanation for the late filing:
it is not enough to simply file a notice of appeal. Id.; Woodard v. Higgins, 140 S.W.3d
462, 462 (Tex. App. Amarillo 2004, no pet.); In re B.G., 104 S.W.3d 565, 567 (Tex. App.
Waco 2002, no pet.).
Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, appellant’s notice of appeal
was due on November 4, 2016, but was not filed until November 11, 2016. Appellant’s
notice of appeal states he did not receive notice of the judgment until November 7, 2016.
On November 16, 2016, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant of this defect so that
steps could be taken to correct the defect, if it could be done. Appellant was advised
that, if the defect was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of this Court’s
letter, the appeal would be dismissed. To date, no response has been filed.
When a party adversely affected by the judgment does not receive notice within
twenty days of judgment, the period for filing the appeal begins to run from the date the
party received notice, provided no more than ninety days have elapsed since the signing
of the judgment or other appealable order. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 306a(4); TEX. R. APP. P.
4.2(a)(1). Although appellant’s notice of appeal indicates he did not receive notice of the
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judgment until November 7, 2016, appellant did not follow the procedures required in
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 306a and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 4.2 to gain
additional time to perfect his appeal. See Mem'l Hosp. v. Gillis, 741 S.W.2d 364, 365
(Tex. 1987) (per curiam).
The Court, having examined and fully considered the documents on file,
appellant’s failure to timely perfect his appeal, and appellant’s failure to respond to this
Court’s notice, is of the opinion that the appeal should be dismissed for want of
jurisdiction. Accordingly, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED FOR WANT OF
JURISDICTION. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a)(c).
PER CURIAM
Delivered and filed the
12th day of January, 2017.
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