City of Houston, Annise D. Parker, Kelly Dowe, Ronald C.Green, Brenda Stardig, Jerry Davis, Ellen Cohen, Dwight Boykins, Dave Martin, Richard Nguyen, Oliver Pennington, Ed Gonzalez, Robert Gallegos, Mike Laster, Larry Green, Stephen Costello v. Houston Municipal Employee Pension System

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ACCEPTED 14-15-00865-CV FOURTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/21/2015 4:50:03 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK CITY OF HOUSTON Annise D. Parker Legal Department Mayor FILED IN 14th COURT Donna OF APPEALS L. Edmundson HOUSTON, TEXAS City Attorney Legal4:50:03 10/21/2015 Department PM P.O. Box 368 CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Houston, Texas 77001-0368 Clerk City Hall Annex th 900 Bagby, 4 Floor October 21, 2015 T. 832.393.6491 F. 832.393.6259 www.houstontx.gov Via E-Filing Hon. Christopher A. Prine, Clerk Fourteenth Court of Appeals 301 Fannin Street, Room 245 Houston, Texas 77002 Re: 14-15-00865-CV; City of Houston, et al. v. Houston Municipal Employees Pension System; in the Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District of Texas at Houston Dear Mr. Prine: We are in receipt of your correspondence dated October 20, 2015 to Mr. Blake Hawthorne, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas, stating that Appellee Houston Municipal Employee Pension System (“Appellee”) has requested that the Supreme Court of Texas transfer this matter to the First Court of Appeals under the procedure set forth in Miles v. Ford Motor Co., 914 S.W.2d 135, 137 n.2 (Tex. 1995), which references section 73.001 of the Texas Government Code. That statute allows the Supreme Court to order cases transferred from one court of appeals to another when there is good cause. See Tex. Gov’t Code § 73.001. Respectfully, Appellee’s motion was not filed under section 73.001 of the Texas Government Code. Rather, Appellee sought transfer pursuant to Rules 1.5 of the Local Rules of both the Fourteenth and First Courts of Appeals Council Members: Brenda Stardig Jerry Davis Ellen R. Cohen Dwight A. Boykins Dave Martin Richard Nguyen Oliver Pennington Edward Gonzalez Robert Gallegos Mike Laster Larry V. Green Stephen C. Costello David W. Robinson Michael Kubosh C.O. “Brad” Bradford Jack Christie Controller: Ronald C. Green Hon. Christopher A. Prine October 21, 2015 Page 2 regarding transfer of related cases between the two appellate courts.1 Appellee’s request for transfer was directed to this Court, not to the Texas Supreme Court, and it did not seek transfer under section 73.001 through the procedure specified in Miles. See Miles, 914 S.W.2d at 137 n.2. The City does not advocate for either appeals court to be assigned. However, the City does object to institution of this process under section 73.001 when Appellee has not sought such a transfer and the issue has not been briefed by either side. Sincerely, /s/ Fernando De Leon Fernando De Leon Senior Assistant City Attorney cc: See attached Certificate of Service 1 See Appellee’s Motion to Transfer Venue (filed October 12, 2015). See also Local Rule 1.5(a), Fourteenth Court of Appeals Local Rules; Local Rule 1.5(a), First Court of Appeals Local Rules. Appellee’s reply brief also cites sections 22.202(h) and (i) of the Texas Government Code, which address, respectively, random assignment to either the Fourteenth or First Court and docket equalization through transfer by the clerks of the Fourteenth and First Courts from one court to the other—and do not support or authorize a transfer request directed to the Supreme Court or a transfer order by the Supreme Court. See Tex. Gov’t Code § 22.202(h) and (i). Hon. Christopher A. Prine October 21, 2015 Page 3 Certificate of Service I hereby certify that on this 21st day of October, 2015, a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been served on recipients below via e-service and/or email: Travis J. Sales Hon. Blake A. Hawthorne, Clerk Rob Fowler The Supreme Court of Texas Tina Q. Nguyen P.O. Box 12248 BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. Austin, Texas 78711 One Shell Plaza blake.hawthorne@courts.state.tx.us 910 Louisiana Street Houston, Texas 77002-4995 travis.sales@bakerbotts.com rob.fowler@bakerbotts.com tina.nguyen@bakerbotts.com Thomas R. Phillips 98 San Jacinto Boulevard, Suite 1500 BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. Austin, Texas 78701 tom.phillips@bakerbotts.com Attorneys for Appellee Houston Municipal Employees Pension System /s/ Fernando De Leon Fernando De Leon