Anna Maria Salinas Saenz v. Thorp Petroleum Corp. ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
04-14-00527-CV
FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
1/13/2015 4:09:00 PM
KEITH HOTTLE
CLERK
NO. 04-14-00527-CV
__________________________________________________________________
FILED IN
IN THE FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS 4th COURT OF APPEALS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
01/13/2015 4:09:00 PM
__________________________________________________________________
KEITH E. HOTTLE
Clerk
ANNA MARIA SALINAS SAENZ, ET AL.,
Appellants,
v.
THORP PETROLEUM CORP., ET AL.,
Appellees
__________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the 229th District Court of Starr County, Texas
No. DC-04-120, Hon. Ana Lisa Garza, Presiding
__________________________________________________________________
APPELLEES’ UNOPPOSED JOINT MOTION FOR
EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE APPELLEES’ BRIEFS
SCOTT, DOUGLASS, & JONES GILL LLP
MCCONNICO, L.L.P. Lee S. Gill
Mark W. Hanna State Bar No. 07921360
State Bar No. 24051764 info@jonesgill.com
mhanna@scottdoug.com 6363 Woodway, Suite 1100
Kennon L. Wooten Houston, Texas 77057
State Bar No. 24046624 (713) 652-4068 Telephone
kwooten@scottdoug.com (713) 651-0716 Facsimile
600 Congress Avenue, Suite 1500
Austin, Texas 78701-2589 Attorney for Appellees Thorp
(512) 495-6300 Telephone Petroleum Corporation, El Paso
(512) 474-0731 Facsimile Production Company; El Paso E&P
Company, LP; El Paso Exploration
& Production Management, Inc.;
Attorneys for Appellee Stanco Land Management, LLC, and
Smith Production Inc. Meredith Land & Minerals Company
January 13, 2015
1173696
TO THE HONORABLE FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS:
Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b), Appellees Smith
Production Inc. (“Smith Production”) and Thorp Petroleum Corporation, El Paso
Production Company; El Paso E&P Company, LP; El Paso Exploration &
Production Management, Inc.; Stanco Land Management, LLC; and Meredith
Land & Minerals Company (together “Thorp et al.” and collectively with Smith
Production, “Appellees”) file this Unopposed Joint Motion for Extension of Time
to File Appellees’ Briefs, seeking an additional thirty (30) days to file their
appellate briefs. In support of this Motion, Appellees respectfully show the Court
the following:
A. The Current Deadline
Appellants timely filed their brief on December 17, 2014, after receiving two
thirty-day extensions of their briefing deadline. As a result, Appellees’ brief is
currently due on Friday, January 16, 2015. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(b).
B. The Length of Extension Sought
Pursuant to Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b) and 38.6(d),
Appellees seek thirty (30) additional days in which to file their appellate briefs.
Specifically, Appellees seek to change their deadline from January 16, 2015 to
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February 17, 2015.1 Appellees seek this extension so that justice may be done in
this appeal, not for improper delay. Appellants do not oppose this extension.
C. Number of Previous Extensions Granted
This is the first extension that Appellees have requested in this appeal.
D. Facts Explaining the Extension Sought
Appellees seek this extension in order to be on the same briefing schedule
that the Balderas defendants have sought in this appeal.2 Furthermore, Smith
Production seeks an extension of time in which to file its appellate brief because its
lead appellate counsel, Kennon L. Wooten, has had several scheduling demands
between the date that Appellants filed their brief and Smith Production’s current
appellate-brief deadline. These scheduling demands include the following:
• Written discovery, document production, and summary judgment motions in
Lower Colorado River Authority v. City of Kerrville, Acting by and Through
Kerrville Public Utility Board, Cause No. 12-1001-B in the 198th Judicial
District Court of Kerr County, Texas;
• Assistance with dismissal of appeals in and nonsuit of Lower Colorado
River Authority v. City of Boerne, Texas, Cause No. D-1-GN-12-502 in the
216th Judicial District Court of Kendall County, Texas, and Lower Colorado
1
If the requested extension is granted, the new deadline will fall on a Sunday. The following
Monday—February 16, 2015—is President’s Day, a holiday on which the Court will be closed.
2
Rosalinda Salinas Balderas, Fausto Salinas, Elda Salinas Ponce, D-Fox, Ltd., Elodia Salinas,
Linda Mandes, Veronica Casas Campbell, and Cynthia M. Villarreal, f/k/a Cindy Casas Reyna
(together the “Balderas defendants”) recently requested an extension of time of thirty (30) days
in which to file their appellate brief. Like the request herein, the Balderas defendants’ request
was unopposed. If the Court grants the Balderas defendants’ request, the extended briefing
deadline that Appellees seek herein will match the Balderas defendants’ new briefing deadline.
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River Authority v. City of Seguin, Texas, Cause No. D-1-GN-13-000433 in
the 53rd Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas;
• Written discovery in Compensation Sciences Enterprises, Ltd. d/b/a/
CSINadler Partners, Inc. v. D. Douglas Brothers, et al., Cause No. D-1-GN-
14-004203 in the 200th Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas; and
• Preparation of divorce decrees and parenting plans in two pro bono family-
law matters—In the Matter of the Marriage of Jeannie Rodriguez and Casey
Barrera and in the Interest of R. N. R. B., Cause No. D-1-AG-10-001954, in
the 200th Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas, and In the Matter
of the Marriage of Cara Michele Wheeler-Najomo and George Onigite
Najomo, and In the Interest of Mya Ajiroghene Najomo, a Child, Cause No.
D-1-FM-13-005684 in the 250th Judicial District; in Travis County, Texas.
In addition, Thorp et al. seek an extension of time in which to file their
appellate brief because their counsel, Lee Gill, has had several scheduling demands
between the date that Appellants filed their brief and Thorp et al.’s current
appellate-brief deadline. These scheduling demands include the following:
• Written discovery, document production, and summary judgment motions in
Jane Guinn Revocable Trust et al vs. Warbonnet Exploration Co. et al,
Cause No. 30776, 149th District Court, Brazoria County, Texas; and
• Written discovery, document production, and summary judgment motions in
Underground Services Marham, LLC v. Robert Myers et al, Cause No. 13-E-
0218, 130th District Court, Matagorda County, Texas.
The scheduling demands listed above have made it impossible for Appellees
to complete their briefs by their current deadline. This case has not been set for
submission, so this extension will not delay the ultimate resolution of this appeal.
WHEREFORE, Appellees request respectfully that this Court grant this
unopposed Motion and extend their appellate-brief deadline to February 17, 2015.
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Respectfully submitted,
SCOTT, DOUGLASS, &
MCCONNICO, L.L.P.
600 Congress Avenue, Suite 1500
Austin, Texas 78701-2589
(512) 495-6300
(512) 474-0731 Fax
By: /s/ Kennon L. Wooten
Mark W. Hanna
State Bar No. 24051764
mhanna@scottdoug.com
Kennon L. Wooten
State Bar No. 24046624
kwooten@scottdoug.com
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
SMITH PRODUCTION INC.
JONES GILL LLP
6363 Woodway, Suite 1100
Houston, Texas 77057
(713) 652-4068
(713) 651-0716 Fax
By: /s/ Lee S. Gill
Lee S. Gill
State Bar No. 07921360
info@jonesgill.com
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEES THORP
PETROLEUM CORPORATION, EL
PASO PRODUCTION COMPANY; EL
PASO E&P COMPANY, LP; EL PASO
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT, INC.; STANCO LAND
MANAGEMENT, LLC, AND
MEREDITH LAND & MINERALS
COMPANY
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CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that, on January 9, 2015, Appellants’ counsel David George
informed Lee Gill and me via email that Appellants do not oppose the relief sought
through this motion.
/s/ Kennon L. Wooten
Kennon L. Wooten
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been served on all
counsel of record on January, 13, 2015, as indicated below:
Via electronic service
Roger S. Braugh, Jr.
SICO, WHITE, HOELSCHER, HARRIS & BRAUGH, LLP
900 Frost Bank Blaza
802 N. Carancahua
Corpus Christi, TX 78470
rbraugh@swbtrial.com
David George
CONNELLY BAKER WOTRING, LLP
700 JPMorgan Chase Tower
600 Travis Street
Houston, TX 77002
dgeorge@connellybaker.com
and
John T. Flood
Flood & Flood
802 N. Carancahua, Suite 900
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
john@floodandflood.com
Attorneys for Appellants Anna Maria Salinas Saenz, et al.
Via Facsimile: 956-687-6125
Rolando Cantu
LAW FIRM OF ROLANDO CANTU, P.C.
4428 S. McColl
Edinburg, TX 78539
Attorney for Alicia Salinas
7
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Via electronic service
Jose Luis Flores
ATTORNEY AT LAW
1111 W. Nolana
McAllen, TX 78504
joe@jlfloreslawfirm.com
Attorney for Eleodora Salinas Del Real, Dalia
Salinas and Jose Manuel Flores
Via electronic service
J. Joseph Vale
O.C. Hamilton, Jr.
ATLAS & HALL, L.L.P.
P.O. Drawer 3725
McAllen, TX 78502
jvale@atlashall.com
och@atlashall.com
Attorneys for Luisa M. Ruiz, Norberto Salinas, Fausto Salinas, Rosalinda
Salinas Balderas, Linda Mandes, Ricardo L. Salinas, Veronica Casas
Campbell, Elda Salinas Ponce, Cindy Casas Reyna, Thelma Salinas, Elodia
Salinas, D-FOX, Ltd., and Cynthia M. Villarreal, f/k/a Cindy Casas Reyna
Via electronic service
Juan J. Hinojosa
LAW OFFICES OF JUAN J. HINOJOSA
612 W. Nolana Loop, Suite 410
McAllen, TX 78504
jjhinojosa@bizrgv.rr.com
Attorney for Arturo Salinas
Via electronic service
C. Frank Wood
Sanchez, Whittington, Zabarte & Wood, L.L.C.
3505 Boca Chica Blvd., Suite 100
Brownsville, TX 78521
fwood@swjz.com
Attorney for Ruben Garcia, et al.
8
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Via electronic service
Daniel Robles
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Westoria Building, 1st Floor
420 S. “F” Street
Harlingen, Texas 78550
noemi@dan-robles.com
Attorney for Oscar Garcia, Jr.
Via electronic service
Ricardo L. Salinas
SALINAS/FLORES
2011 N. Conway
Mission, Texas 78572
rsalinaslaw@yahoo.com
Attorney for Ricardo Salinas
Via electronic service
Rene A. Flores
THE LAW OFFICE OF RENE A. FLORES
2724 W. Canton Road
Edinburg, Texas 78539
rene.flores@yahoo.com
Attorney for Alida Salinas Hernandez, Arnaldo Salinas, Alma Salinas
Munoz, Adelaida Salinas, Aida Salinas Flores, Guadalupe Salinas, Maria
Ester Salinas Cantu, and Maria del Carmen Zamora
/s/ Kennon L. Wooten
Kennon L. Wooten
9
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