Winnie Stacy Alwazzan v. International Agencies, Co., Ltd.

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON ORDER Appellate case name: Winnie Stacey Alwazzan v. Isa Ali Alwazzan and International Agencies Co., Ltd. Appellate case number: 01-22-00316-CV Trial court case number: 2017-24671 Trial court: 246th District Court of Harris County On April 22, 2022, appellant, Winnie Stacey Alwazzan, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s March 12, 2022 “Order Granting Bill of Review.” Generally, a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after the entry of judgment, or, in the case of an accelerated appeal, within twenty days after entry of the judgment. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a), (b). Here, appellant’s notice of appeal does not indicate that this is an accelerated appeal. As such, appellant’s notice of appeal from the trial court’s March 12, 2022 order was due on or before April 11, 2022. However, the time within which to file a notice of appeal may be enlarged if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the party files a notice of appeal in the trial court, and a motion for extension of time complying with Rule 10.5(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure in the appellate court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. With this extension, any notice of appeal, and motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal, was due on or before April 26, 2022. Appellant filed her notice of appeal in the trial court on April 22, 2022. Further, on April 25, 2022, appellant filed, in this Court, a “Motion for Extension of Time to File Notice of Appeal.” Appellant’s motion states that the requested extension is necessary because neither appellant, nor her counsel, received notice of the trial court’s final order until April 20, 2022, “effectively cutting off [a]ppellant’s right to appeal.” Appellant’s motion includes a certificate of conference stating that counsel for appellee, International Agencies Co., Ltd. is unopposed to the relief requested in the motion, but that appellee, Isa Ali Alwazzan, has not responded to appellant’s attempts to confer regarding the motion. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.1(a)(5). However, more than ten days have passed, and no party has opposed appellant’s motion. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.3(a). Because appellant filed her notice of appeal and motion for extension of time to file her notice of appeal within fifteen days of the deadline for filing a notice of appeal, appellant’s motion for extension of time to file her notice of appeal is granted. It is so ORDERED. Judge’s signature: ____/s/ Amparo Guerra_______  Acting individually  Acting for the Court Date: ____May 10, 2022_____