Opinion
NO. 14-13-00237-CV
04-04-2013
MICHAEL NORVIL, Appellant v. BANK OF AMERICA, Appellee
On Appeal from the Co Civil Ct at Law No 4
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1022597
ORDER
This appeal is from a judgment signed December 3, 2012. Appellant filed a timely motion for new trial. The notice of appeal was due March 4, 2013. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed his notice of appeal on March 18, 2013, 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 fifteen 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 12 days after the date of this order. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3;12.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.