ACCEPTED
04-15-00478-CV
FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
12/21/2015 6:06:30 PM
KEITH HOTTLE
CLERK
No. 04-15-00478-CV
FILED IN
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 4th COURT OF APPEALS
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
FOURTH DISTRICT 12/21/2015 6:06:30 PM
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS KEITH E. HOTTLE
Clerk
MOHICAN OIL & GAS, LLC, and MOG PRODUCING, LP,
Appellants/Defendants,
VS.
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY,
Appellee/Plaintiff.
On Appeal from the 49th Judicial District Court
Webb County, Texas
Judge Joe Lopez
APPELLEE’S RESPONSE TO APPELLANTS’
SECOND MOTION TO EXTEND TIME TO FILE APPELLANTS’ BRIEF
December 21, 2015 GRAY REED & MCGRAW, P.C.
Darin L. Brooks
Texas Bar No. 00796252
dbrooks@grayreed.com
John G. George, Jr.
Texas Bar No. 24051944
jgeorge@grayreed.com
Meagan W. Glover
State Bar No. 24076769
mglover@grayreed.com
1300 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 2000
Houston, Texas 77056-3000
3061235.1
Telephone: (713) 986-7228
Facsimile: (713) 986-7100
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE/PLAINTIFF
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
Appellee ConocoPhillips Company (ConocoPhillips) files this response to the
Second Motion of Appellants Mohican Oil & Gas, LLC, and MOG Producing, LP,
(Appellants) to Extend Time to File Appellants’ Brief.
1. The Appellants’ original deadline to file their brief was November 23,
2015. On November 18, the Appellants filed a motion to extend time to file their
brief, claiming an additional 30 days was needed because of proceedings in the
underlying trial court, “work on other cases,” and the birth of the lead counsel’s
child. The Court granted the Appellants’ motion, making the current deadline to file
the Appellants’ brief December 23.
2. On December 18, the Appellants contacted ConocoPhillips and asked
if it would agree to an additional 16-day extension, claiming additional time is
needed because of a hearing held on December 1 in the underlying trial court and
the illness of the father of John Newman, the Appellants’ representative.
ConocoPhillips responded that it opposed an additional 16-day extension.
3. As explained by ConocoPhillips in its response to the Appellants’ first
motion to extend time to file their brief, ConocoPhillips normally does not oppose
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reasonable extensions of time. However, the Appellants’ repeated requests for
extensions on the eve of deadlines with often implausible excuses established a clear
pattern of excuse and delay during the proceedings in the trial court—and now in the
appellate court.
4. As with the Appellants’ first motion to extend time to file their brief,
although ConocoPhillips is sympathetic to some of the Appellants’ reasons in its
second motion to extend time, the implausible excuses outweigh the seemingly
legitimate ones (the illness of John Newman’s father), leading ConocoPhillips to
believe that the Appellants’ second motion is yet another delay tactic.
5. Because the Court has already granted a 30-day extension, and given
the Appellants’ established pattern of excuse and delay, ConocoPhillips respectfully
requests the Court deny the Appellants’ second motion to extend time to file their
brief. In the event that this Court is inclined to grant Appellants’ second motion to
extend time to file their brief, then ConocoPhillips respectfully requests that the
Court order that no further extensions will be allowed for Appellants to file their
brief.
Respectfully submitted,
GRAY, REED & MCGRAW, P.C.
By: /s/ Darin L. Brooks
Darin L. Brooks
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3061235.1
Texas Bar No. 00796252
dbrooks@grayreed.com
John G. George, Jr.
Texas Bar No. 24051944
jgeorge@grayreed.com
Meagan W. Glover
State Bar No. 24076769
mglover@grayreed.com
1300 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 2000
Houston, Texas 77056-3000
Telephone: (713) 986-7228
Facsimile: (713) 986-7100
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE/PLAINTIFF
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
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3061235.1
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on December 21, 2015, a true and correct copy of the
forgoing instrument was served on all counsel-of-record via facsimile and the
Court’s electronic filing service.
/s/ Darin L. Brooks
Darin L. Brooks
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3061235.1