Order filed September 29, 2020

In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________ NO. 14-19-00203-CV ____________ BUILDING HOMES FOR HEROES, INC. AND TOTAL LENDER SERVICES, Appellants V. JUSTIN ELLIS, INDIVIDUALLY, STEPHANIE ELLIS, INDIVIDUALLY, AND BOTH AS NEXT FRIEND OF R.E., A MINOR, Appellees

On Appeal from the 506th Judicial District Court Waller County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 18-08-25073 ORDER This is an accelerated appeal from an order signed March 7, 2019. The notice of appeal was due within 20 days of the date the order was signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b). If any party timely files a notice of appeal, another party may file a notice of appeal within the 20-day period or 14 days after the first filed notice of appeal, whichever is later. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(d).

Twenty days after the order was signed was March 27, 2019. Building Homes for Heroes, Inc. (BHH) timely filed a notice of appeal on March 12, 2019. Fourteen days after BHH filed its notice of appeal was March 26, 2019, so the later 20-day deadline of March 27, 2019 was the deadline for another party to file a notice of appeal. Total Lender Services (TLS) filed a notice of appeal on April 2, 2019, a date within 15 days of March 27, 2019.

A motion to extend 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). TLS did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal.

While an extension may be implied, TLS 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 TLS to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before October 9, 2020. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; 10.5(b). If TLS does not comply with this order, we will dismiss its appeal. (The appeal by BHH will remain pending.) See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

PER CURIAM Panel consists of Justices Christopher, Jewell, and Zimmerer.