Mary Louise Serafine v. Alexander Blunt and Ashley Blunt

ACCEPTED 03-12-00726-CV 4306747 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 2/26/2015 9:07:58 PM JEFFREY D. KYLE CLERK RAY BASS, ATTORNEY email: ray@raybass.com 120 West 8th Street Tel. 512-863-8788 Georgetown, Texas 78626 Fax. 512-233-2376 FILED IN 3rd COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS FEBRUARY 26, 2013 2/26/2015 9:07:58 PM JEFFREY D. KYLE Clerk JEFFREY D. KYLE, CLERK THIRD COURT OF APPEALS P.O. BOX 12547 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711 RE: MARY LOUISE SERAFINE v. ALEXANDER BLUNT & ASHLEY BLUNT NUMBER 03-12-00726-CV LETTER SUPPLEMENT TO APPELLANT’S BRIEF This case is curently pending on appeal and Appellant wishes to bring to the Court's attention the recent case of James v. Calkins, 446 S.W.3d 135 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2014), pet. filed Feb. 3, 2015. In James v. Calkins the Houston Court of Appeals considered various claims including fraudulent lien, where the underlying factual basis was that the defending parties had appeared in court (as a disputed guardian) and had filed a lis pendens. The court of appeals found that such claims were "based on, relate to, or are in response to, the exercise of [appellants'] right to petition," and therefore reversed the trial court's denial of a motion to dismiss under the Texas Citizen Participation Act ("TCPA"). 446 S.W.3d at 150. The court thus ordered dismissal of the claims with prejudice, and remanded the case to the trial court for an award costs, fees, expenses, and sanctions as required by the TCPA. Id. The court held that the nonmovant's burden, on a motion to dismiss under the TCPA, requires "clear and specific evidence" within the ordinary meanings of the words, and that "[c]onclusory statements are not probative and accordingly will not suffice to establish a prima facie case. Id. at 150. (citation omitted). SINCERELY /s/ Ray Bass RAY BASS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE Pursuant to Rule 9.4(i)(2) the below signed counsel for appellant certifies that the foregoing Letter Supplement To Appellant’s Brief, excluding the parts listed in Rule 9.4(i)(1), contains 204 words. /s/ Ray Bass _____________________ Ray Bass CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of Appellant’s Brief has been served via the method indicated below, to the person(s) noted below on this, the 12th day of February, 2013. Doran D. Peters HAJJAR, SUTHERLAND, PETERS & WASHMON, LLP 1205 Rio Grande Street Austin, Texas 78701 Attorney For Appellees Via Email DPeters@hspwlegal.com Ronald Max Raydon Law Office of Ronald Max Raydon 1718 Fry Road, Suite 450 Houston, Texas 77084 Attorney For Scott Lockhart, and Attorney For Austin Drainage & Foundation, LLC Via Email ron@raydonlaw.com /s/ Ray Bass RAY BASS