Opinion
01-23-00178-CV
07-18-2024
Jennifer Cook v. Memorial Hermann Hospital System
61st District Court of Harris County No. 2022-39272
ORDER
Veronica Rivas-Molloy, Judge
Appellant Jennifer Cook filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's November 29, 2022 Order Granting [Appellee Memorial Hermann Hospital System's] Motion to Dismiss. Appellant filed a timely Motion for New Trial in the trial court. Appellant's notice of appeal was thus due within 90 days after the challenged order was signed, or by February 27, 2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant did not file her notice of appeal until March 7, 2023. The time to file a notice of appeal may be extended if, within fifteen days after the deadline to file the notice of appeal, a party properly files a motion for extension. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617-18 (Tex. 1997). As Appellant had not filed such motion for extension of time with her notice of appeal, we requested Appellant to provide a reasonable explanation for her failure to file her notice of appeal in a timely manner.
On July 5, 2024, Appellant filed a Motion to Extend Time to File [Her] Notice of Appeal, stating that "Appellant's counsel had a death in the family" and that he "immediately filed the notice of appeal" when he "returned to work and realized the deadline had passed." Appellant's motion is granted. We deem Appellant's March 7, 2023 notice of appeal timely. See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615.
Appellant's brief was due July 15, 2024. On July 12, 2024, Appellant filed a Motion for Extension of Time to file her brief, stating that due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl "[her] attorney's office is still without power[,] and [he] does not have access to his office and the necessary documents needed to complete the Appellant's brief."
Due to the extraordinary circumstances involved, Appellant is granted one last extension of 20 days to file her appellate brief, making her brief due on Wednesday, August 7, 2024. No further extensions will be granted.
This appeal may be dismissed for want of prosecution, without further notice, if Appellant does not file her brief by August 7, 2024 See Tex R. App P. 38.6(d), 38 8(a)(1)
It is so ORDERED.