Opinion
01-23-00914-CV
02-06-2024
Matthew Davidson v. City of Houston
270th District Court of Harris County Trial court case number: 2021-74777
ORDER
Julie Countiss, Judge
On December 6, 2023, appellant, Matthew Davidson, proceeding pro se, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's August 26, 2023 final judgment. On December 7, 2023, appellant filed a "Motion to Extend Time to File Notice."
Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, we lack jurisdiction over an appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.1. Generally, a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days of the date of the trial court's judgment unless a party files certain post-judgment motions, in which case the deadline is extended to ninety days. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a). The Court's records reflect that appellant filed a "Motion for New Trial and to Modify the Judgment," extending his deadline to file a notice of appeal. Accordingly, any notice of appeal from the trial court's August 26, 2023 final judgment was due no later than November 27, 2023. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 4 ("Computation of Time"); Tex.R.App.P. 4.1 ("Computing Time").
However, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3 allows for an extension of the deadline to file a notice of appeal if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing a notice of appeal, an appellant files a notice of appeal in the trial court and a motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal in the appellate court. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3. Taking this extension into account, appellant's notice of appeal and motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal were due no later than December 12, 2023. Appellant's December 6, 2023 notice of appeal and December 7, 2023 "Motion to Extend Time to File Notice" were each filed within this extended period.
Although appellant's "Motion to Extend Time to File Notice" does not include a certificate of conference stating whether appellee, City of Houston, is opposed to the relief requested in the motion, more than ten days have passed, and appellee has not filed a response to appellant's motion. See Tex. R. App. P. 10.1(a)(5), 10.3(a).
Based the foregoing, appellant's "Motion to Extend Time to File Notice" is granted.
It is so ORDERED.