Harris County v. International Paper Company ( 2015 )


Menu:
  •                                                                                         ACCEPTED
    01-15-00354-CV
    FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
    HOUSTON, TEXAS
    5/7/2015 2:08:15 PM
    CHRISTOPHER PRINE
    CLERK
    No. 01-15-00354-CV
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS              FILED IN
    1st COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON
    HOUSTON, TEXAS
    5/7/2015 2:08:15 PM
    HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS,
    CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
    Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
    Clerk
    AND
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON
    ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, A NECESSARY AND INDISPENSABLE PARTY,
    Appellant/Cross Appellee,
    V.
    INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY,
    Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
    On Appeal from the 295th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas
    MOTION FOR BRIEFING SCHEDULE
    KEN PAXTON                              ANTHONY W. BENEDICT
    Attorney General of Texas               Assistant Attorney General
    State Bar No. 02129100
    CHARLES E. ROY                          Anthony.Benedict@texasattorneygeneral.gov
    First Assistant Attorney General
    LINDA B. SECORD
    JAMES E. DAVIS                          Assistant Attorney General
    Deputy Attorney General                 State Bar No. 17973400
    for Civil Litigation                    Linda.Secord@texasattorneygeneral.gov
    JON NIERMANN                            Environmental Protection Division
    Chief, Environmental Protection         P.O. Box 12548, MC-066
    Division                                Austin, Texas 78711-2548
    Tel: (512) 463-2012
    MARY E. SMITH                           Fax: (512) 320-0911
    Assistant Attorney General              ATTORNEYS FOR THE TEXAS
    State Bar No. 24041941                  COMMISSION ON
    Mary.Smith@texasattorneygeneral.gov     ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
    TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY’S
    RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY’S
    MOTION FOR BRIEFING SCHEDULE
    On May 5, 2015, International Paper Company (“IP”) filed its Motion for
    Briefing Schedule. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”), a
    necessary and indispensable party pursuant to Tex. Water Code § 7.353, asks this
    Court to enter the following consolidated briefing schedule, which recognizes
    TCEQ’s unique role in this case and extends the schedule by only 20 days, as an
    alternative to IP’s proposal.
    BACKGROUND
    The trial court entered a final judgment in the underlying case on January 20,
    2015. On April 17 and 22, 2015, respectively, Harris County and TCEQ filed notices
    of appeal. On April 30, 2015, IP filed a notice of cross-appeal. On May 5, 2015, IP
    filed a motion for briefing schedule.
    ARGUMENT
    The TCEQ asks the Court to order the following briefing schedule subject to
    any motion for extension of time:
    2
    Filing                                     Due Date
    Harris County’s appellant brief               30 days after the record is filed
    TCEQ’s appellant brief                        10 days after Harris County’s appellant
    brief is filed
    International Paper’s appellee and            30 days after the TCEQ’s appellant
    cross-appellant brief                         brief is filed
    Harris County’s reply to appellee brief       20 days after International Paper’s
    and response to cross-appellant brief         appellee/cross-appellant brief is filed
    TCEQ’s reply to appellee brief and            10 days after Harris County’s
    response to cross-appellant brief             reply/response brief is filed
    International Paper’s cross-reply brief       20 days after TCEQ’s reply/response
    brief is filed
    TCEQ’s proposed schedule allows for the 30-day extension for the filing of
    International Paper’s cross-appellant brief and the waiver of TCEQ’s own
    appellant’s reply brief, as requested in International Paper’s motion. The only
    difference between the two schedules is TCEQ’s request for a ten-day extension to
    file its appellant brief and its reply/response to International Paper’s appellee and
    cross-appellant brief.
    The TCEQ seeks this additional time because of its unique role in this case.
    Under the Water Code, local governments, like Harris County, may bring suits to
    enforce certain rules and statutes administered by the TCEQ. Tex. Water Code
    § 7.351. The TCEQ is a statutory necessary and indispensable party so that it may
    address statewide interests that arise in this and similar cases. See Tex. Water Code
    § 7.353. Although the TCEQ anticipates working closely with Harris County to
    3
    coordinate its briefing, until Harris County’s briefing is final, the TCEQ will not
    know whether and to what extent additional briefing may be necessary to address
    state interests. The TCEQ requests a modest amount of additional time for its initial
    and reply/response briefs so that it may focus on these state interests without undue
    repetition of Harris County’s briefs, conserving the resources of this Court and the
    parties to the case.
    PRAYER
    For the reasons stated above, the TCEQ asks the Court to grant its motion for
    briefing schedule.
    Respectfully submitted,
    KEN PAXTON
    Attorney General of Texas
    CHARLES E. ROY
    First Assistant Attorney General
    JAMES E. DAVIS
    Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation
    JON NIERMANN
    Chief, Environmental Protection Division
    /s/ Mary E. Smith
    MARY E. SMITH
    Assistant Attorney General
    State Bar No. 24041947
    ANTHONY W. BENEDICT
    Assistant Attorney General
    State Bar No. 02129100
    4
    LINDA B. SECORD
    Assistant Attorney General
    State Bar No. 17973400
    Office of the Attorney General of Texas
    Environmental Protection Division
    P. O. Box 12548, Capitol Station
    Austin, Texas 78711-2548
    (512) 463-2012
    (512) 320-0911 (Facsimile)
    Mary.Smith@texasattorneygeneral.gov
    Anthony.Benedict@texasattorneygeneral.gov
    Linda.Secord@texasattorneygeneral.gov
    ATTORNEYS FOR THE TEXAS
    COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL
    QUALITY
    5
    CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
    I certify that on April 29, 2015, and May 4, 2015, Linda Secord conferred with
    counsel for International Paper regarding the briefing scheduled proposed in this
    motion. And, on May 6, 2015, I conferred with Harris County regarding the
    proposed schedule. International Paper opposes the schedule because it prefers the
    schedule in its motion. Harris County is unopposed to the schedule proposed in this
    response.
    /s/ Mary E. Smith
    Mary E. Smith
    6
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
    I certify that a copy of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s
    Response to International Paper Company’s Motion for Briefing Schedule was
    served on each person listed below via e-service and e-mail on May 7, 2015.
    /s/ Mary E. Smith
    Mary E. Smith
    Winstol D. Carter, Jr.                        Allyson N. Ho
    Craig A. Stanfield                            Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
    Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP                  1717 Main St., Suite 3200
    1000 Louisiana St., Suite 4000                Dallas, TX 75201
    Houston, Texas 77002                          Telephone: (214) 466-4000
    Telephone: (713) 890-5000                     Facsimile: (214) 466-4001
    Facsimile: (713) 890-5001                     Email: aho@morganlewis.com
    Email: wcarter@morganlewis.com                Attorneys for International Paper, Inc.
    Email: cstanfield@morganlewis.com
    Attorneys for International Paper, Inc.
    Debra Tsuchiyama Baker                        Rock W.A. Owens
    Earnest W. Wotring                            Terence L. O’Rourke
    Michael Connelly                              Vince Ryan
    John Muir                                     Harris County Attorney
    David George                                  Office of the Harris County Attorney
    Connelly, Baker, Wotring, LLP                 Texas Bar No. 15311000
    700 JPMorgan Chase Tower                      1019 Congress, 15th Floor
    600 Travis Street                             Houston, Texas 77002
    Houston, Texas 77002                          Email: Rock.Owens@cao.hctx.net
    Email: dbaker@connellybaker.com               Attorneys for Harris County
    Email: ewotring@connellybaker.com
    Email: mconnelly@connellybaker.com
    Email: jmuir@connellybaker.com
    7
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 01-15-00354-CV

Filed Date: 5/7/2015

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 9/29/2016