Sandy Lake Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, PA, Stephen Ward, and Michael Schnappauf v. Jason Tinley, as Trustee on Behalf of Als Grantor Trust

In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-25-00330-CV
___________________________

SANDY LAKE CHIROPRACTIC AND REHABILITATION, PA, STEPHEN
WARD, AND MICHAEL SCHNAPPAUF, Appellants

V.

JASON TINLEY, AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF ALS GRANTOR TRUST,
Appellee

On Appeal from the 352nd District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 352-349469-24

Before Kerr, Birdwell, and Bassel, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Kerr
MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellants, Sandy Lake Chiropractic and Rehabilitation, PA, Stephen Ward,

and Michael Schnappauf, attempt to appeal the trial court’s March 28, 2025 final

judgment. We conclude we lack jurisdiction and dismiss the appeal.

Generally, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after a judgment is

signed. Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. When a party timely files a motion for new trial, the

notice of appeal must be filed within 90 days after the judgment is signed. Id. A

motion for extension of time is implied when an appellant acting in good faith files a

notice of appeal within the next 15 days after the notice of appeal is due. Verburgt v.

Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex. 1997). But an appellant must provide a reasonable

explanation for the late filing of the notice of appeal. Tex. R. App. P. 10.5(b)(2).

Here, Appellants timely filed a new-trial motion, so June 26, 2025 was their

notice of appeal filing deadline. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. But Appellants filed their

notice of appeal on July 10, 2025. On that day, we warned Appellants that because

their notice of appeal was untimely, we could dismiss this appeal unless, by July 21,

2025, they filed a response informing us, in writing, of facts reasonably explaining

their late filing. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3, 44.3. Appellants have not responded. See Tex.

R. App. 10.5(b)(2).

We are not authorized to alter the time for perfecting an appeal in a civil case.

See Tex. R. App. P. 2. Because Appellants did not respond to this court’s Verburgt

notice, we cannot exercise jurisdiction over the appeal. See, e.g., Forest Hills Home Ass’n

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v. Rogers, No. 02-25-00170-CV, 2025 WL 1599967, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth

June 5, 2025, no pet.) (mem. op.); Reames v. Barnes-Brashear, No. 12-24-00109-CV,

2024 WL 2197211, at *1 (Tex. App.—Tyler May 15, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.); see also

Lasater v. Thompson, No. 02-20-00290-CV, 2021 WL 386957, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort

Worth Feb. 4, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.) (explaining that absent a timely filed notice of

appeal or extension request, an appellate court lacks jurisdiction). Accordingly, we

dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.

/s/ Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr
Justice

Delivered: August 7, 2025

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