Carol McGehee v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company

Order filed December 14, 2021

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals ____________

NO. 14-21-00669-CV ____________

CAROL MCGEHEE, Appellant

V.

ALLSTATE FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee

On Appeal from the 333rd District Court Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 2016-65389

ORDER

This is an appeal from a judgment signed October 7, 2021. The notice of appeal was due November 8, 2021. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed the notice of appeal on November 12, 2021, a date within 15 days of the due date for the notice of appeal. A motion for extension of 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). Appellant did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal. While an extension may be implied, appellant 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 appellant to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before December 27, 2021. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3;10.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.

PER CURIAM

Panel Consists of Justices Wise, Spain, and Hassan.