Opinion
No. 04-17-00247-CV
05-10-2017
Antonio FERRER, Jr., Appellant v. L.O. TRANSPORT, INC., Appellee
MEMORANDUM OPINION
From the 81st Judicial District Court, Atascosa County, Texas
Trial Court No. 15-02-0119-CVA
Honorable Russell Wilson, Judge Presiding PER CURIAM Sitting: Sandee Bryan Marion, Chief Justice Luz Elena D. Chapa, Justice Irene Rios, Justice DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION
On April 20, 2017, Antonio Ferrer, Jr. filed a notice of appeal in this court and a motion for extension of time to file his notice of appeal. The motion alleges Ferrer also filed a notice of appeal in the trial court on April 20, 2017. The following day, Ferrer filed an amended motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal.
Ferrer's notice of appeal and amended motion allege the trial court signed the final judgment on January 4, 2017. The notice of appeal further alleges Ferrer filed a motion for new trial in the trial court on February 3, 2017, and that the trial court heard and denied the motion for new trial on April 12, 2017. Ferrer alleges his "counsel's staff committed a calendaring error regarding the calculation for the date that the Notice of Appeal was due under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure."
A timely notice of appeal must be filed in order to invoke this court's jurisdiction. See Sweed v. Nye, 323 S.W.3d 873, 875 (Tex. 2010) (per curiam). "Once the period for granting a motion for extension of time [under the Rules of Appellate Procedure] has passed, a party can no longer invoke the appellate court's jurisdiction." See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (1997). When, as here, an appellant files in the trial court a timely motion for new trial, "the notice of appeal must be filed within 90 days after the judgment is signed." TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a)(1).
We "may extend the time to file the notice of appeal if, within 15 days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the party: (a) files in the trial court the notice of appeal; and (b) files in the appellate court a motion complying with Rule 10.5(b)." Id. R. 26.3. If a party files a notice of appeal within fifteen days after the deadline for filing a notice of appeal, a motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal is implied if the party acted in good faith. Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 615. However, we may not suspend the Rules of Appellate Procedure "to alter the time for perfecting an appeal in a civil case," even for good cause. TEX. R. APP. P. 2.
According to Ferrer's motion and notice of appeal, the trial court's judgment was signed on January 4, 2017. Thus, the notice of appeal was due ninety days after January 4, 2017, which was Tuesday, April 4, 2017. See id. R. 26.1(a)(1). The notice of appeal or motion for extension of time must have been filed no later than fifteen days after April 4, 2017, which was Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Ferrer did not file the notice of appeal or his motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal until Thursday, April 20, 2017, which was after the period for granting a motion for extension of time had passed. See id. We have no authority to extend this filing period, even for the cause stated in Ferrer's motion. See id. R. 2. Because neither the notice of appeal nor the motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was timely filed, Ferrer has failed to invoke this court's jurisdiction. See Sweed, 323 S.W.3d at 875; Verburgt, 959 S.W.2d at 617. We must therefore dismiss this appeal.
PER CURIAM