First Bank & Trust Company v. Centura Land Corporation F/K/A Iori Centura, Inc.

ACCEPTED 05-14-00891-CV FIFTH COURT OF APPEALS DALLAS, TEXAS 3/24/2015 3:47:52 PM LISA MATZ CLERK No. 05-14-00891-CV IN THE FIFTH COURT OF APPEALS FILED IN 5th COURT OF APPEALS DALLAS, TEXAS DALLAS, TEXAS 3/24/2015 3:47:52 PM LISA MATZ FIRST BANK & TRUST COMPANY, Clerk THE BANK A/K/A THE BANK OF WEATHERFORD, AND DAVID GARVIN, Appellants, v. CENTURA LAND CORPORATION F/K/A IORI CENTURA, INC., Appellee Appeal from the 44th District Court Cause DC-12-04743 The Honorable Bonnie Goldstein APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Pursuant to TEXAS RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 10.5(b) and 38.6, Appellants First Bank & Trust Company, The Bank a/k/a The Bank of Weatherford, and David Garvin (collectively, “Appellants”) file this Unopposed First Motion for Extension of Time to File Appellants’ Rely Brief, and respectfully requests a 30-day extension as follows: A. The Present Deadline and Length of Extension Sought (60 days). Appellants filed their Brief for Appellants on November 20, 2014. Appellee sought and obtained three extensions of time (67 days) within which to file its APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Page 1 Brief for Appellee, and filed its Amended Brief of Appellee on March 9, 2015. Thus, Appellants’ Reply Brief is currently due on March 29, 2015. Appellants respectfully request a 60-day extension of time in which to file Appellants’ Reply Brief. If granted, the requested extension would make Appellee’s Reply Brief due on Thursday, May 28, 2015. B. Number of Previous Extensions Granted. This is Appellants’ first request for an extension of time within which to file its Reply Brief. Appellants’ request is not sought for improper purposes or for unjustified delay, but so that justice may be done. C. Facts Justifying Requested Extension. Appellants seek an extension of time within which to file Appellants’ Reply Brief because the parties have scheduled a mediation for April 29, 2015—one month after the current deadline for Appellants’ Reply Brief. Appellants seek this extension of time to conserve the Court’s and the parties’ time and resources pending the outcome of mediation. Appellants also seek the requested extension because Appellants’ counsel, who has recently been retained on this case, has certain personal and professional conflicts that limit their ability to concisely prepare Appellants’ Reply Brief under the current time restraints. Paul B. Lackey, Lead Counsel for Appellants, is involved in discovery APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Page 2 practice and is preparing to take, and preparing his witnesses for, depositions scheduled for March 31, 2015 and April 7, 2015 in Bank of America, NA. v. Grant J. Scott, Trustee of The Get Good Trust, James Dondero, Individually and as Trustee of the Canis Major Trust; Cause Number DC-15-02916, in the 298th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas. Deborah Deitsch-Perez, Co-Lead Counsel for Appellants, is currently preparing for an international arbitration in Singapore, Lao Holdings N.V. v. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/12/6) scheduled to start April 13, 2015, with travel for preparation starting April 7, 2015. Finally, because counsel was retained recently on this case, counsel seeks additional time after the mediation date to fully analyze the issues on appeal, examine the record in the case, and conduct research for and prepare a clear Reply Brief that assists the Court in its review. D. The Request for Extension is Unopposed. Counsel for Appellee is not opposed to Appellants’ request for a 60-day extension of time in which to file Appellants’ Reply Brief. E. Request For Relief. For the foregoing reasons, Appellants respectfully request that this Court grant a 60-day extension of time for the filing of Appellants’ Reply Brief, extending the deadline by which to file Appellants’ Reply Brief to May 28, 2015. APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Page 3 Appellants also request any additional relief the Court finds just. Dated: March 24, 2015 Respectfully submitted, LACKEY HERSHMAN, LLP By: /s/ Kristen A. Miller Reinsch Paul B. Lackey State Bar No. 00791061 pbl@lhlaw.net Deborah Deitsch-Perez State Bar No. 24036072 ddp@lhlaw.net Kristen A. Miller Reinsch State Bar No. 24048660 kam@lhlaw.net 3102 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 777 Dallas, Texas 75219 Telephone: (214) 560-2201 Facsimile: (214) 560-2203 Attorneys For Appellants First Bank And Trust Company, The Bank a/k/a The Bank Of Weatherford, and David Garvin APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Page 4 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE On March 23, 2015, I conferred with counsel for Appellee, Jonathan Cunningham, about the substance of the foregoing, and counsel for Appellee confirmed both verbally and via email that Appellee does not oppose the relief sought herein. /s/ Kristen A. Miller Reinsch Kristen A. Miller Reinsch CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served on March 24, 2015, via electronic filing and service, pursuant to Tex. R. App. P. 9.5, on the following counsel of record: C. Gregory Shamoun g@snlegal.com Jonathan Cunningham jjc@snlegal.com Shamoun & Norman, LLP 1755 Wittington Place, Suite 200 Dallas, Texas 75234 /s/ Kristen A. Miller Reinsch Kristen A. Miller Reinsch APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF Page 5