Opinion
NO. 14-15-00851-CV
01-06-2016
SANDEEP PATEL AND AMAN JAFAR, M.D., Appellants v. ZAKI MOIN, M.D., Appellee
On Appeal from the 281st District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 2011-44121
ORDER
This is an appeal from a judgment signed September 25, 2015. No post-judgment motion was filed. Sandeep Patel and Aman Jafar, M.D. filed a notice of appeal on October 2, 2015.
If a party timely files a notice of appeal in a case in which no post-judgment motion is filed, another party may file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the judgment was signed or within 14 days after the first notice of appeal is filed, whichever is later. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(d). In this case, the 30-day period is longer, so any further notice of appeal was due by October 26, 2015.
Zaki Moin, M.D. filed a notice of cross-appeal on November 2, 2015, 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); City of Dallas v. Hillis, 308 S.W.3d 526, 529-30 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, pet. denied) (applying Verburgt to notice of cross-appeal).
Moin did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of cross-appeal. While an extension may be implied, Moin 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 Zaki Moin, M.D. to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before January 15, 2015.See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; 10.5(b). If Moin does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.
PER CURIAM