ACCEPTED
14-15-00009-CV
FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
4/20/2015 1:28:39 PM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
No. 14-15-00009-CV
In the Fourteenth Court of Appeals 4/20/2015
Houston, Texas
VALERO REFINING-TEXAS, L.P. AND
VALERO REFINING-NEW ORLEANS, L.L.C.,
Appellants,
v.
VESUVIUS USA CORPORATION, C&H LABORATORIES, CC, AND
DR. JOHN HANCOCK,
Appellees.
On Appeal from the 127th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Cause No. 2010-52532A
UNOPPOSED MOTION TO EXTEND ABATEMENT PERIOD
FOR COMPLETION OF MEDIATION
TO THE HONORABLE FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS:
Pursuant to TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b) and the Court’s January 21, 2015
Abatement Order, Appellees C&H LABORATORIES, CC and DR. JOHN
HANCOCK respectfully request an extension of the abatement period for
completion of mediation. This motion is unopposed.
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Introduction
1. Appellants are Valero Refining-Texas, L.P. and Valero Refining-New
Orleans, L.L.C. (collectively, “Valero”). Appellees are C&H Laboratories, CC and
Dr. John Hancock (collectively, “C&H Labs”), and Vesuvius USA Corporation
(“Vesuvius”).
2. On January 21, 2015, the Court issued an order referring the underlying
dispute to mediation, to be held no later than March 23, 2015. However, due to the
need for additional discovery in advance of mediation, Valero and C&H Labs were
unable to complete mediation by that date. The necessary additional discovery will
be completed on May 6, 2015; and mediation will be held on May 8, 2015 before
Mike Bell.
3. C&H Labs respectfully requests that the abatement period be extended to
Friday, May 15, 2015, to permit the parties to complete mediation.
4. This is C&H Labs’ first request for an extension of the abatement period.
5. This motion is unopposed.
Grounds for Motion
6. C&H Labs’ lead counsel, Anthony T. Golz, cites the following reasons
for seeking an extension of the abatement period. The undersigned is also counsel
of record for Artech Technologies L.L.C. (“Artech”), who is a party to the original
action docketed under cause number 2010-52532 (the “Original Action”), but not
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the severed action from which this appeal arises. Artech’s counterclaims against
Valero remain pending in the Original Action. Mediation is likely to be fruitful if
it involves all parties to the Original Action, including Valero, C&H Labs, and
Artech, and if an attempt is made to resolve all parties’ claims. To that end, Valero
has requested to depose Artech’s corporate representative regarding Artech’s
damages. Counsel have been working diligently to schedule this deposition, which
is set for May 6, 2015; and mediation is scheduled for May 8, 2015 before Mike
Bell. Extending the abatement period to May 15, 2015 will allow the parties to
conduct additional negotiations following mediation, to the extent any are necessary.
7. This motion is not filed for the purpose of delay, but to allow the parties
adequate time to complete mediation.
Prayer
For these reasons, C&H Labs respectfully requests the Court to extend the
abatement period to Friday, May 15, 2015 to permit the parties to complete
mediation.
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Respectfully submitted,
By: /s/ Anthony T. Golz
Anthony T. Golz
Texas Bar No. 24059834
agolz@cbylaw.com
Charles W. Getman
Texas Bar No. 07831200
cgetman@cbylaw.com
COKINOS, BOSIEN & YOUNG
1221 Lamar Street, 16th Floor
Houston, Texas 77010
(713) 535-5500
(713) 535-5533 (Fax)
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES,
C&H LABORATORIES, CC AND
DR. JOHN HANCOCK
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that, on Monday, April 20, 2015, I conferred with Frank Guerra,
counsel for Appellants, and with Bijan Siahatgar, counsel for Vesuvius, regarding
this motion, and neither Appellants nor Vesuvius opposes the requested extension.
/s/ Charles W. Getman
CHARLES W. GETMAN
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that, on April 20, 2015, a copy of the foregoing was forwarded to all
counsel of record by the Electronic Filing Service Provider, as follows:
Michael J. Murray
Francisco Guerra, IV
Mikal C. Watts
Edward W. Allred
WATTS GUERRA, LLP
4 Dominion Dr.
Bldg. 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Attorneys for Appellants,
Valero Refining-Texas, L.P. and Valero Refining-New Orleans, L.L.C.
Bijan R. Siahatgar
John K. Spiller
STRASBURGER & PRICE, LLP
909 Fannin St., Suite 2300
Houston, Texas 77010
Attorneys for Vesuvius USA Corporation
/s/ Anthony T. Golz
ANTHONY T. GOLZ
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