Opinion
04-21-00559-CV
04-18-2022
Alize Imari SMITH, Appellant v. John Kenneth WILSON IV, Appellee
From the 408th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2020EM502226 Honorable Nick Catoe Jr., Judge Presiding
ORDER
Rebeca C. Martinez, Chief Justice
In a regular appeal such as this one, a notice of appeal ordinarily is due within thirty (30) days after the judgment is signed. Tex.R.App.P. 26.1. In this case, the trial court signed the judgment on November 9, 2021. Therefore, the notice of appeal was due to be filed on December 9, 2021. See id. A motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was due to be filed on December 24, 2021. See id. R. 26.3. On December 16, 2021, appellant filed her notice of appeal. Although appellant filed a notice of appeal within the fifteen-day grace period allowed by Rule 26.3, she did not file a motion for extension of time.
A motion for extension of time is necessarily implied when an appellant, acting in good faith, files a notice of appeal beyond the time allowed by Rule 26.1 but within the fifteen-day grace period provided by Rule 26.3 for filing a motion for extension of time. See Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997) (construing the predecessor to Rule 26). However, the appellant must offer a reasonable explanation for failing to file the notice of appeal in a timely manner. See id; Tex. R. App. P. 26.3, 10.5(b)(1)(C); see also Hone v. Hanafin, 104 S.W.3d 884, 886-87 (Tex. 2003) (holding "a reasonable explanation" is any plausible statement of circumstances indicating that failure to timely file was not deliberate or intentional but was the result of inadvertence, mistake or mischance, and that "any conduct short of deliberate or intentional noncompliance qualifies as inadvertence, mistake or mischance") (citation ommitted).
It is therefore ORDERED that appellant file, within ten days from the date of this order, a response presenting a reasonable explanation for failing to file a notice of appeal in a timely manner. If appellant fails to respond within the time provided, the appeal will be dismissed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c).