John Lawton v. David W. Lawton, Individually, as Former Independent of the Estate of Joseph G. Lawton, and as Former Agent for Joseph G. Lawton Under a Power of Attorney

ACCEPTED 01-15-00193-CV FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 9/23/2015 2:43:56 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK No. 01-15-00193-CV FILED IN IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 1st COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON, TEXAS 9/23/2015 2:43:56 PM AT HOUSTON CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk JOHN LAWTON, Appellant, v. DAVID W. LAWTON, INDIVIDUALLY, AS INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF JOSEPH G. LAWTON, DECEASED AND AS FORMER AGENT FOR JOSEPH G. LAWTON UNDER A POWER OF ATTORNEY, Appellee. On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 1, Fort Bend County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. 14-CCV-053769 UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE REPLY BRIEF OF APPELLANT TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS: Appellant John Lawton respectfully files this unopposed motion for extension of time to file his appellant’s reply brief. 1. The present deadline for filing the appellant’s reply brief is September 24, 2015. 2. Appellant seeks a thirty-day extension, creating a new brief deadline of October 26, 2015, in which to file his brief. 3. This is Appellant’s first request for an extension of time to file his reply brief. 1640.002/567671 4. This motion is unopposed. 5. Appellant needs the additional time to file his appellant’s reply brief with this Court for the following reasons: Lead appellate counsel for Appellant, Connie Pfeiffer, is responsible for preparation of the appellant’s reply brief. In addition to her work on the brief in this case, Ms. Pfeiffer has been engaged in other litigation with imminent deadlines that have prevented her from completing the brief before the deadline, including, but not limited to, the following:  Preparation of appellants’ motion for en banc reconsideration in No. 01-13-01068-CV, Diamond Offshore Services Limited and Diamond Offshore Services Company v. Willie David Williams, In the Houston First Court of Appeals. Appellants’ motion for en banc reconsideration was filed on September 4, 2015, after one extension.  Preparation of reply in support of petition for mandamus in No. 03- 15-00401-CV, In re Xerox Corporation and Xerox State Healthcare, LLC f/k/a ACS State Healthcare, LLC, In the Austin Third Court of Appeals. The reply was filed on September 16, 2015.  Preparation for trial, joint pre-trial order and preparation of jury charge in Case No. 4:13-cv-02532, The City of Houston, Texas v. Xerox State and Local Solutions, Inc. a/k/a and f/k/a ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc., In the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Trial is scheduled to begin on October 5, 2015.  Attendance as Course Director at CLE in Austin on September 9- 11th. 1640.002/567671 2 Appellate counsel for Appellant, William Peterson has been engaged in other litigation with imminent deadlines that have prevented him from completing the appellant’s reply brief before the present deadline, including, but not limited to, the following:  Preparation of a petition for writ of mandamus in No. 01-15- 00774-CV, In re Wagner, In the Houston First Court of Appeals. The petition was filed on September 8, 2015.  Preparation of a jury charge in No. 11-03-21722-CV, Renger v. Crown Case, In the District Court of Lavaca County. The draft jury charge was filed on September 9, 2015.  Assistance in preparation of brief of appellee in No. 15-20030, Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, Inc., et al. v. ExxonMobil Corporation, et al., In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The brief was filed on September 10, 2015, after two extensions.  Assistance in preparation of a reply in support of petition for mandamus in No. 03-15-00401-CV, In re Xerox Corporation and Xerox State Healthcare, LLC f/k/a ACS State Healthcare, LLC, In the Austin Third Court of Appeals. The reply was filed on September 16, 2015.  Assistance in preparation of petition for rehearing en banc in No. 14-20420, Robert Ludlow, et al. v. BP, P.L.C., et al., In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The rehearing motion was filed on September 22, 2015.  Assistance in preparation for oral argument in No. 15-0146, Doris Forte, O.D., et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Incorporated, In the Texas Supreme Court. The argument was held on September 23, 2015.  Assistance in preparation of respondent’s brief on the merits in No. 14-0767, Chris Linegar v. DLA Piper LLP (US), In the Texas Supreme Court. The brief is due to be filed on or before October 21, 2015 after two extensions. 1640.002/567671 3 6. This motion is not filed for the purpose of delay, but to allow counsel adequate time to prepare the appellant’s reply brief. For these reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court grant him an extension of time to file his appellant’s reply brief until October 26, 2015. Respectfully submitted, BECK REDDEN LLP By: /s/ William Peterson Constance H. Pfeiffer State Bar No. 24046627 cpfeiffer@beckredden.com William Peterson State Bar No. 24065901 wpeterson@beckredden.com 1221 McKinney, Suite 4500 Houston, TX 77010-2010 (713) 951-3700 (713) 951-3720 (Fax) Esther Anderson State Bar No. 00792332 esther@probateguardianship.com ANDERSON PFEIFFER, PC 845 FM 517 West, Suite 200 Dickinson, TX 77539 (281) 488-6535 (281) 614-5205 (Fax) COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT 1640.002/567671 4 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE I certify that I conferred with Kimberly Hoesl, counsel for Appellee, and Appellee does not oppose the requested extension. /s/ William Peterson William Peterson CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on September 23, 2015, a true and correct copy of the above and foregoing Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time to File Reply Brief of Appellant was forwarded to all counsel of record by the Electronic Filing Service Provider, if registered, otherwise by email, as follows: N. Kimberly Hoesl J. B. (Trey) Henderson III DOYLE, RESTREPO, HARVIN & ROBBINS, L.L.P. 440 Louisiana Street, Suite 2300 Houston, TX 77002 khoesl@drhrlaw.com thenderson@drhrlaw.com Counsel for David W. Lawton, Individually and As Independent Executor /s/ William Peterson William Peterson 1640.002/567671 5