The opinion
Opinion issued November 13, 2018
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-18-00817-CV
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LARRY COLEMAN HICKS, Appellant
V.
DAWN RENAE FOREMAN, Appellee
On Appeal from the 300th District Court
Brazoria County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 77123-F
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Larry Coleman Hicks, attempts to appeal from the trial court’s final
divorce decree, signed on November 10, 2015.
We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Generally, a notice of appeal is due within thirty days after the judgment is
signed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. The deadline to file a notice of appeal is extended
to ninety days after the date the judgment is signed if, within thirty days after the
judgment is signed, any party timely files a motion for new trial, motion to modify
the judgment, motion to reinstate, or, under certain circumstances, a request for
findings of fact and conclusions of law. See id. 26.1(a); TEX. R. CIV. P. 296, 329b(a),
(g). The time to file a notice of appeal also may be extended if, within fifteen days
after the deadline to file the notice of appeal, a party properly files a motion for
extension. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b), 26.3. 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 extension period
provided by rule 26.3. See id. 26.1, 26.3; Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617
(Tex. 1997).
Here, the trial court signed the final divorce decree on November 10, 2015.
Because appellant did not file a motion for new trial, motion to modify, or request
for findings of fact and conclusions of law, a notice of appeal was due by December
10, 2015, or by December 28, 2015, with a fifteen-day extension. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 26.1(a), 26.3. Appellant filed his notice of appeal more than two and one-half
years later on September 12, 2018.
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The Clerk of this Court notified appellant that the appeal was subject to
dismissal for lack of jurisdiction unless he filed a response showing how this Court
has jurisdiction over his appeal. Appellant did not adequately respond and did not
show that we have jurisdiction over the appeal. Appellant’s notice of appeal, filed
on September 12, 2018, was untimely. Without a timely filed notice of appeal, this
Court lacks jurisdiction over the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1; Brown Mech.
Servs., Inc. v. Mountbatten Sur. Co., 377 S.W.3d 40, 44 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st
Dist.] 2012, no pet.).
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). We dismiss all pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Higley, and Massengale.
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