Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc. v. Robert Jones and Poly Trucking, Inc.

ACCEPTED 01-15-00232-CV FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 4/7/2015 10:29:44 AM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK NO. 01-15-00232-CV ACCELERATED APPEAL FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 4/7/2015 10:29:44 AM IN THE CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE COURT OF APPEALS Clerk FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc., Appellant vs. Robert Jones and Poly Trucking, Inc., Appellees __________________________________________________________________ APPELLANT’S UNOPPOSED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE BRIEF __________________________________________________________________ TO THE HONORABLE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS: Appellant, Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc. asks the court to extend the time to file their brief for the following reason. 1. Appellant is Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc.. Appellees are Robert Jones and Poly Trucking, Inc. 2. No rule limits the time within which to file this motion to extend. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(d). 3. Appellees do not oppose this motion. 4. The court may extend the time to file the brief under the authority of Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.6(d). CHRONOLOGY 5. On March 6, 2015, Appellant Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc. filed its Notice of Appeal with the trial court appealing the trial court’s February 23, 2015 Order Overruling Defendant’s Special Appearance. On March 6, 2015, appellant also filed its request for reporter’s record and request for the clerk’s record. The reporter’s record was filed with the First Court of Appeals on March 13, 2015. The clerk’s record was filed with the First Court of Appeals on March 18, 2015, however, that record was incomplete. Appellant’s brief is due on April 8, 2015. 6. Appellant’s request for the clerk’s record timely designated the items to be included, consisting of those required by Tex. R. App. Proc. 34.5 plus a list of additional documents. On March 23, his first opportunity to review the record, appellant’s counsel discovered items missing from the record and immediately filed a request for supplementation. Specifically, these documents were omitted from the record filed by the district clerk’s office, although they were part of documents that were requested: (1) the affidavit of David Coffey, attached to Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc.’s Special Appearance, (2) all exhibits to Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant Nationwide Distribution Services, Inc.’s Special Appearance. 2 7. Appellant’s counsel (who did not serve as trial counsel) also discovered the need for, and designated, additional items in the request for supplementation. Those four documents are Plaintiff’s Original and First Amended Petitions, and two Docket Control Orders. REASON FOR DELAY IN BRIEFING 8. Appellant’s brief is already finished, with the important exception of the many citations to the Clerk’s Record that lack page references because the documents being cited are not yet in the record. The omitted documents being cited consist primarily of attachments to Jones’ Response to Special Appearance. (The Special Appearance and Jones’ Response to it were designated for inclusion in the record; the clerk included them without any of their attachments). Rather than file a brief with extensive citations to a Supplemental Record that does not yet exist (thus, with no page references), and then have to file an amended brief, appellant requests a 30-day extension in which to file its brief. The Harris County District Clerk stated in a March 31, 2015 telephone call with my legal assistant, Rebecca Garcia, that its normal turnaround time to file a supplemental record is 30 days. 9. No extensions have been granted to extend the time to file appellant’s brief. CONCLUSION For these reasons, appellant asks the court to grant an extension of time to file 3 its brief until May 8, 2015. As the brief is finished except for the missing record citations, it can be filed promptly after the clerk files the supplemental record. Respectfully submitted, RAMEY, CHANDLER, QUINN & ZITO, P.C. By: /s/ Jack McKinley Jack McKinley State Bar No. 13716300 Robert L. Ramey State Bar No. 16498200 750 Bering, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77057 Telephone: (713) 266-0074 Facsimile: (713) 266-1064 jmm@ramey-chandler.com rlr@ramey-chandler.com COUNSEL FOR APPELLANTS CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE On March 6, 2015, Appellant’s counsel consulted with Tracy Willi (counsel for appellee Poly Trucking) and Cory Itkin (counsel for appellee Robert Jones) and both have stated that they are unopposed to this motion. Counsel for Robert Jones, however, states that he is opposed to a trial continuance. /s/ Jack McKinley JACK McKINLEY 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been served upon all counsel of record, in accordance with the rules on the 7th day of April, 2015: Jason A. Itkin Via E-Filing Service Cory D. Itkin Noah M. Wexler Arnold & Itkin, LLP 6009 Memorial Drive Houston, Texas 77007 Counsel for Appellee, Robert Jones Tracy J. Willi Via E-Filing Service Willi Law Firm, P.C. 9600 Escarpment Blvd. Suite 745, PMB 34 Austin, Texas 78749 Counsel for Appellee, Poly Trucking, Inc. Ruark D. Mershon Via E-Filing Service 2000 W. Marshall Drive Grand Prairie, Texas 75051 Co-Counsel for Appellee, Poly Trucking, Inc. /s/ Jack McKinley JACK McKINLEY 5