ACCEPTED
03-14-00283-CV
7276799
THIRD COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
10/7/2015 3:59:10 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
CLERK
NOS. 03-14-00283-CV & 03-14-00360-CV
In the Court Of Appeals 3rd AUSTIN,FILED IN
COURT OF APPEALS
TEXAS
for the Third Judicial District10/7/2015 3:59:10 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
Austin, Texas Clerk
TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY and MICHAEL L. WILLIAMS, COMMISSIONER OF
EDUCATION, in his OFFICIAL CAPACITY,
Appellants/Defendants,
V.
AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS, INC., d/b/a AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS CHARTER
SCHOOL, HONORS ACADEMY, INC., d/b/a HONORS ACADEMY, and TWO
AZLEWAY, INC. d/b/a/ AZLEWAY CHARTER SCHOOL,
Appellees/Plaintiffs/Intervenors.
On Appeal from the 261st District Court
Travis County, Texas
Cause No. D-1-GN-14-000672
APPELLANTS’ OPPOSED MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE POST
SUBMISSION LETTER
KEN PAXTON SHELLEY NIETO DAHLBERG
Attorney General of Texas Associate Deputy Attorney General
For Civil Litigation
CHARLES E. ROY State Bar No. 24012491
First Assistant Attorney OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
General P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
JAMES E. DAVIS Tel.: (512) 936-1864
Deputy Attorney General for Fax: (512) 320-0667
Civil Litigation
shelley.dahlberg@texasattorneygeneral.gov
ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT
TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS:
This motion seeks leave to file a post-submission letter brief.
Oral argument in the above-referenced matter was held on September 24,
2015. During argument, Justice Field inquired whether amendments to TEX. EDUC.
CODE § 12.115(c), enacted in Senate Bill 2 in 2013, are unconstitutionally retroactive
under the Supreme Court’s analysis in Robinson v. Crown Cork & Seal Co., 335
S.W.3d 126 (Tex. 2010). Appellants submit that under Robinson and the Court’s
later opinion in Union Carbide Corp. v. Synatzske, 438 S.W.3d 39 (Tex. 2014), the
statute is not unconstitutionally retroactive.
Given the length of Appellees’ argument, Counsel for Appellants seeks this
leave to further explain the Commissioner’s argument related to Justice Field’s
question for which there was little time allotted during rebuttal.
Accordingly, Appellants request that the Court grant leave to file their Post
Submission Letter Brief.
Respectfully submitted,
KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas
CHARLES E. ROY
First Assistant Attorney General
JAMES E. DAVIS
Deputy Attorney General for
Civil Litigation
2
General Litigation Division
Post Office Box 12548, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
(512) 463-2120 (Telephone)
(512) 320-0667 (Facsimile)
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that my legal assistant, at my direction, emailed Appellees’ counsel
on October 6, 2015 at 9:13 a.m. to determine whether they are opposed to this
motion. I was copied on the email. Mr. O’Hanlon indicated that he was unopposed
to the motion but deferred to Mr. Schulman given that the issues addressed in the
letter pertain to American YouthWorks’ claim. Mr. Schulman asked for additional
time to consider the content of the letter. As of the filing of this motion, I have not
heard further from Appellees’ counsel. I therefore assume the motion is opposed.
3
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on October 7, 2015 the foregoing document was filed
electronically and sent to the following counsel of record via email and/or ECF
Notification:
Robert A. Schulman Kevin O'Hanlon
SCHULMAN, LOPEZ& HOFFER, L.L.P. Leslie McCollom
Joseph E. Hoffer 808 West Avenue
517 Soledad Street Austin, Texas 78701
San Antonio, Texas 78205-1508 kohanlon@808west.com
rschulman@slh-law.com lmccollom@808west.com
jhoffer@slh-law.com Attorneys for Plaintiff-Intervenor
Honors Academy, Inc.
Cris Feldman
3355 West Alabama Street, Suite 1220 Susan G. Morrison
Houston, Texas 77098 The Fowler Law Firm, PC
cris.feldman@thefeldmanfirmpc.com 919 Congress Ave. Suite 900
Attorneys for Plaintiff Austin, TX 78701
smorrison@thefowlerlawfirm.com
Attorneys for Plaintiff-
IntervenorAzleway Charter School
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Texas Education Agency and Mike Morath, Commissioner of Education, in His Official Capacity v. American YouthWorks, Inc., D/B/A American YouthWorks Charter School Honors Academy, Inc., D/B/A Honors Academy And Azleway, Inc., D/B/A Azleway Charter School
Combined Opinion