ACCEPTED 03-15-00186-CV 7689337 THIRD COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 11/4/2015 4:54:44 PM JEFFREY D. KYLE CLERK NO. 03-15-00186-CV __________________________________________________ FILED IN 3rd COURT OF APPEALS IN THE COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS11/4/2015 4:54:44 PM AT AUSTIN JEFFREY D. KYLE ________________________________________________Clerk GLENN HEGAR, COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS; AND KEN PAXTON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellants v. STATEWIDE MATERIALS TRANSPORT, LTD., Appellee. JOINT MOTION FOR FIFTH EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE APPELLEE’S BRIEF TO THE HONORABLE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS: For the reasons explained below, both parties jointly move for a thirty-day extension of the Appellee’s Brief deadline to allow for finalization of an anticipated settlement agreement, followed by dismissal of this pending matter. Appellee’s current deadline is Monday, November 9, 2015. The parties seek an extension of this deadline until Wednesday, December 9, 2015. 1 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Appellants are Glenn Hegar, Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas, and Ken Paxton, Attorney General of the State of Texas (“Appellants”). 2. Appellee is Statewide Materials Transport, Ltd. (“Appellee”). 3. No rule provides a deadline to file this Motion to Extend. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(d). II. ARGUMENT & AUTHORITIES 4. The Court has authority under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.6(d) to extend the time to file Appellee’s Brief. This Motion is filed in accordance with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b)(1). 5. Appellee’s Brief is currently due on Monday, November 9, 2015. 6. Since August 11, 2015, settlement discussions have been underway between the parties. The parties reached an initial agreement to the settlement terms and began finalizing the necessary settlement documents at the start of September. Counsel believed that the process would be final before the start of November. However, the bureaucratic procedures of the Office of the Comptroller have taken longer than anticipated. As a result, the settlement documents have not yet been finalized. The parties continue working toward that goal and anticipate 2 filing a Joint Motion to Dismiss this appeal following the completion of the settlement documents. 8. The requested extension of Appellee’s Brief deadline will not prejudice any party. 9. Four extensions of time have previously been granted to Appellee regarding its Brief: Two at the request of Appellee (in June and July 2015), and two jointly requested by the parties after settlement negotiations began (in August and September 2015). 10. The $10.00 filing fee has been submitted in connection with this Motion. III. PRAYER For these reasons, the Appellants and Appellee respectfully pray that this Court grant an extension of time to file Appellee’s Brief from November 9 to December 9, 2015, which is 30 days from the current deadline. 3 Respectfully submitted, MARTENS, TODD, LEONARD, TAYLOR & AHLRICH 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1950 Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 542-9898 Telecopier: (512) 542-9899 By: /s/ Amanda G. Taylor Amanda Taylor ataylor@textaxlaw.com State Bar No. 24045921 James F. Martens jmartens@textaxlaw.com State Bar No. 13050720 Lacy L. Leonard lleonard@textaxlaw.com State Bar No. 24040561 Danielle V. Ahlrich dahlrich@textaxlaw.com State Bar No. 24059215 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE STATEWIDE MATERIALS TRANSPORT, LTD. 4 JOINED BY KEN PAXTON Attorney General of Texas CHARLES E. ROY First Assistant Attorney General SCOTT A. KELLER Solicitor General BY: /s/ Douglas D. Geyser DOUGLAS D. GEYSER Assistant Solicitor General State Bar No. 24059817 douglas.geyser@texasattorneygeneral.gov CHARLES K. ELDRED Assistant Attorney General charles.eldred@texasattorneygeneral.gov OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Austin, Texas 78711-2548 Tel.: (512) 936-2540 Fax: (512) 474-2697 COUNSEL FOR APPELLANTS GLENN HEGAR, COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, AND KEN PAXTON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF TEXAS 5 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE As required by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.1(a)(5), I certify that on November 4, 2015, counsel for Appellee conferred with counsel for Appellants, both Mr. Douglas Geyser and Mr. Charles Eldred, and they agree to join in the relief requested by this Motion. /s/ Amanda G. Taylor Amanda G. Taylor CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Joint Motion for a Fourth Extension of Time to File Appellee’s Brief has been electronically filed and served on all counsel below on November 4, 2015. Douglas D. Geyser Assistant Solicitor General OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL P.O. Box 12548 (MC 059) Austin, Texas 78711-2548 (512) 936-2540 (512) 474-2697 [fax] douglas.geyser@texasattorneygeneral.gov Charles Eldred Assistant Attorney General OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, FINANCIAL AND TAX LITIGATION DIVISION P.O. Box 12548 Austin, Texas 78711 (512) 463-1745 (512) 477-2348 [fax] charles.eldred@texasattorneygeneral.gov /s/ Amanda G. Taylor Amanda G. Taylor 6