Samantha Ruiz and Brian Ruiz v. Raul Sosa and Silvia Sosa ( 2019 )

NUMBER 13-19-00552-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
___________________________________________________________
SAMANTHA RUIZ AND BRIAN RUIZ, Appellants,
v.
RAUL SOSA AND SILVIA SOSA, Appellees,
____________________________________________________________
On appeal from the 197th District Court
of Cameron County, Texas.
____________________________________________________________
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Benavides, Longoria, and Perkes
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Longoria
Appellants, Samantha Ruiz and Brian Ruiz, attempted to perfect an appeal from a
judgment entered by the 197th District Court of Cameron County, Texas, in cause number
2015-DCL-05946-C. Judgment in this cause was signed on August 13, 2019. No
motion for new trial was filed.
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1 provides that an appeal is perfected when
notice of appeal is filed within thirty days after the judgment is signed, unless a motion for
new trial is timely filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a)(1). Where a timely motion for new trial
has been filed, notice of appeal shall be filed within ninety days after the judgment is
signed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a).
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, 617-18, 619 (1997) (construing the predecessor
to Rule 26). However, appellant must provide a reasonable explanation for the late filing:
it is not enough to simply file a notice of appeal. Id.; Woodard v. Higgins, 140 S.W.3d
462, 462 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2004, no pet.); In re B.G., 104 S.W.3d 565, 567 (Tex.
App.—Waco 2002, no pet.).
Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, appellants’ notice of appeal
was due on September 12, 2019, but was not filed until October 25, 2019. On October
28, 2019, the Clerk of this Court notified appellants of this defect so that steps could be
taken to correct the defect, if it could be done. Appellants were advised that, if the defect
was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of this Court’s letter, the appeal
would be dismissed. To date, no response has been received from appellants.
The Court, having examined and fully considered the documents on file,
appellants’ failure to timely perfect their appeal, and appellants’ failure to respond to this
Court’s notice, is of the opinion that the appeal should be dismissed for want of
jurisdiction. Accordingly, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED FOR WANT OF
JURISDICTION. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a),(c).
NORA L. LONGORIA
Justice
Delivered and filed the
26th day of November, 2019.
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