Delfred Harper v. Rusty Gibson Appeal from 160th Judicial District Court of Dallas County (memorandum opinion)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Dismiss and Opinion Filed April 23, 2021 In the Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-20-00957-CV DELFRED HARPER, Appellant V. RUSTY GIBSON, Appellee On Appeal from the 160th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-19-03812 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Justices Schenck, Reichek, and Carlyle Opinion by Justice Carlyle Delfred Harper appeals from the trial court’s June 17, 2020 order of dismissal for want of prosecution. We questioned our jurisdiction over this appeal because appellant’s October 30, 2020 notice of appeal did not appear to be timely. See Brashear v. Victoria Gardens of McKinney, L.L.C., 302 S.W.3d 542, 545–46 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, no pet.) (timely filing of notice of appeal is jurisdictional). “Simplicity and certainty in appellate procedure are nowhere more important than in determining the time for perfecting appeal.” Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 205 (Tex. 2001). To that end, the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provide rules for calculating the deadline for filing a notice of appeal from the date the final judgment is signed. See id.; TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1. When a post-judgment motion such as a motion to reinstate or motion for new trial is filed, the deadline is ninety days, or with an extension motion 105 days, from the date the judgment is signed. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a), 26.3. An order denying a post-judgment motion such as a motion to reinstate or motion for new trial is not separately appealable from the final judgment and does not start the appellate timetable. See Jarrell v. Bergdorf, 580 S.W.3d 463, 465 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2019, no pet.). Here, appellant filed the notice of appeal within thirty days of the order denying the motion to reinstate but 135 days after the order of dismissal. Because appellant’s notice appeal was not filed within 105 days of the order of dismissal, it was not timely, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, and we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a). /Cory L. Carlyle/ CORY L. CARLYLE JUSTICE 200957F.P05 2 Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas JUDGMENT DELFRED HARPER, Appellant No. 05-20-00957-CV On Appeal from the 160th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-19-03812. Opinion delivered by Justice Carlyle. Justices Schenck and Reichek participating. V. RUSTY GIBSON, Appellee In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, this appeal is DISMISSED. It is ORDERED that appellee RUSTY GIBSON recover his costs of this appeal from appellant DELFRED HARPER. Judgment entered this 23rd day of April, 2021. 3
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
