IN THE

TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-18-00276-CV CECIL G. KNICKERBOCKER,

Appellant v. DONALD KNICKERBOCKER AS INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID KNICKERBOCKER AND ROY MATHIS,

Appellees

From the 12th District Court

Walker County, Texas

Trial Court No. 8976 PR

ORDER

A judgment adverse to appellant was rendered on June 21, 2018. Appellant’s notice of appeal, indicating that the appeal was accelerated, was filed on August 20, 2018. By letter dated August 27, 2018, the Court questioned its jurisdiction because the notice of appeal appeared to be past due. In response, appellant filed a motion to abate and a motion to amend his notice of appeal, requesting a stay of the appeal while his motion for new trial is pending and requesting permission to amend the notice of appeal to remove the accelerated appeal language.

An appellant can amend a notice of appeal at any time without leave of Court before the brief is filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1(g). Because appellant’s brief is not yet due, appellant need not move to amend his notice of appeal. However, because a motion was filed, a fee for that motion remains due. Further, without an amended notice of appeal, appellant’s appeal continues to appear to be untimely.

Appellant’s motion is granted. Appellant is ordered to pay the fee for the motion to amend and file an amended notice of appeal within 7 days from the date of this order. If appellant does not timely pay the fee or file an amended notice of appeal, this appeal will be dismissed without further notice. Id. 42.3(c).

Appellant’s “Motion to Abate”1 is conditionally granted to the extent that the appeal and all appellate deadlines, including the requirements to make arrangements to pay for the clerk’s record and the reporter’s record, will be suspended as of the date the notice of appeal is amended and the motion fee is paid. If the notice of appeal is not timely amended or the fee is not timely paid, the appeal will not be suspended. If suspended, the suspension of the appeal will automatically be lifted 28 days from the date of the suspension.

PER CURIAM Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Scoggins Motion to Abate conditionally granted Order issued and filed September 19, 2018 1 The fee for this motion was paid. Knickerbocker v. Knickerbocker Page 2