BLM of Brownwood, Inc. v. Mid-Tex Cellular, Ltd.

Citation: Not availableDocket: 11-11-00311-CV

Court: Court of Appeals of Texas; November 30, 2011; Texas; State Appellate Court

Original Court Document: View Document

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Mid-Tex Cellular, Ltd. filed a motion to dismiss the appeal by BLM of Brownwood, Inc. on the grounds of untimeliness of the notice of appeal and lack of a reasonable explanation. The trial court had issued a judgment on July 14, 2011, and BLM filed a motion for a new trial. However, BLM submitted its notice of appeal late on October 20, 2011, which was eight days past the deadline.

BLM filed a motion for an extension of time to submit the notice of appeal on October 26, 2011, citing that the appellant was not promptly informed of the deadline and was only able to retain counsel on the day the notice was filed. In its response to Mid-Tex’s motion to dismiss, BLM argued that the failure to file on time was not intentional but rather a result of being uninformed about the deadline.

The court referenced Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b), which requires that motions for extensions provide facts that reasonably explain the need for an extension. It noted that a reasonable explanation can include any plausible statement indicating that the failure to file was due to inadvertence, mistake, or mischance, rather than deliberate noncompliance. The court found BLM's assertion that it was not aware of the deadline sufficient to conclude that the late filing was not deliberate.

As a result, the court granted BLM's motion for an extension of time to file the notice of appeal and overruled Mid-Tex’s motion to dismiss. The decision was issued per curiam on December 1, 2011, by a panel consisting of Chief Justice Wright, Justice McCall, and Justice Kalenak.