In Re T. Bently Durant; Thomas R. Durant; The Durant Classic Dynasty Trust; Michael A. Ward; 8100 Partners, Ltd.; 8100 Management LLC; 8705 Partners, Ltd.; 8705 Management LLC; Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land LLC; Classic Chevrolet West Houston, LLC; Classic Elite Buick GMC, Inc.; And 16835 Cadet Partners, LLC v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided March 21, 2025·No. 15-25-00019-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 15-25-00019-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 3/21/2025 10:35 AM NO. 15-25-00019-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FILED IN FIFTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN 15th COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 3/21/2025 10:35:12 AM In Re T. BENTLY DURANT, THOMAS R. DURANT, THE DURANT CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLASSIC DYNASTY TRUST, MICHAEL A. WARD, 8100 PARTNERS, Clerk LTD., 8100, MANAGEMENT LLC, 8705 PARTNERS, LTD., 8705 MANAGEMENT LLC, CLASSIC CHEVROLET SUGAR LAND, LLC, CLASSIC CHEVROLET WEST HOUSTON, LLC, CLASSIC ELITE BUICK GMC, INC., AND 16835 CADET PARTNERS, LLC., Relators.

Original Proceeding from the Business Court of the State of Texas, Eleventh Division Cause No. 25-BC11A-0001 Honorable Stacy Rogers Sharp, Judge of the Texas Business Court Fourth Division, Sitting by Assignment

RELATORS’ RESPONSE TO REAL-PARTIES-IN-INTEREST’S EMERGENCY MOTION TO RECONSIDER THE STAY GRANTED BY THE COURT

SHACKELFORD, MCKINLEY & NORTON, LLP Attorneys for Relators K. Elizabeth Swan Timothy D. Zeiger State Bar No. 24071218 State Bar No. 22255950 eswan@shackelford.law tzeiger@shackelford.law Derek D. Rollins 2600 Via Fortuna, Suite 150 State Bar No. 24029803 Austin, Texas 78746 drollins@shackelford.law Telephone: (512) 469-0900 Lucas Peterson Facsimile: (512) 469-0930 State Bar No. 24121468 lpeterson@shackelford.law 9201 N. Central Expy., 4th Floor, Dallas, Texas 75231 Telephone: (214) 780-1400 Facsimile: (214) 780-1401 FACTS

In this original proceeding, Relators seek mandamus review of the business

court’s order remanding a removed commercial action (Cause No. 25-BC11A-0001,

the “Business Court Action”) to the 387th District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas

(Cause No. 24-DCV-318087, the “Divorce Action”). On February 21, 2025, this

Court issued an Order staying all proceedings in both the Business Court Action and

the Divorce Action (the “Stay”) and requesting a response and reply to Relators’

Petition for Writ of Mandamus.

The status quo ante at the time of the Stay was that Relators controlled and

managed the operations of the Classic Dealerships without interference from the

Sebastians, as they had for approximately seven (7) months. App.A:4, 9, 252-254.

Jeff Sebastian was terminated from employment at the dealerships in July 2024 and

Tiffany was terminated in September 2024, 1 prior to their initiation of any lawsuit

against Relators. MR:391; MR:509-510 (¶¶2, 8-9); Motion p. 3.

The Sebastians jointly filed pleadings in the Divorce Action seeking to upend

that status quo, including a request to appoint a receiver over virtually all dealership

operations, and their February 21, 2025 request for an ex parte temporary restraining

order “enjoin[ing] any interference with Jeff’s legal right to control all management

1 In fact, the Sebastians conceded in their “Emergency Application for TRO” not only that their terminations occurred but also that their terminations were the basis (“Specified Event” or “triggering event”) that required a buy out of their interest. MR:509 (¶2), 510 (¶¶ 8, 9).

2 decisions” of the Classic Dealerships – which compelled Relators to seek a Stay

from this Court. MR:401-404, 514-515, 556-7. This Court’s Stay preserved the

status quo of the peaceable operation of the Classic Dealerships and, pending

mandamus review, prevented the Sebastians from obtaining court orders from the

Divorce Court that would hamper or eliminate this Court’s ability to afford relief in

the event this Court determines that the business court improperly remanded the

Business Court Action.

The day after the Stay was imposed, on February 22, 2025, the Sebastians

unilaterally held a Special Meeting of the Managers of Relator Classic Chevrolet

West Houston, LLC (“Classic West Houston”). App.A:252, 304-305; App.B:2-12.

At that “meeting” – where Jeff was the sole member in attendance – Jeff purported

to remove Relator Thomas R. Durant as Manager and President and appoint Tiffany

as Manager and himself as President.2 App.A:304; App.B:5-7. The Sebastians

further purported to set each of their base compensation at $15,000 per month plus

2% of the dealership’s gross revenues. App.A:304; App.B:7-9. The meeting was

improper and ineffective for multiple reasons. App.A:6, 253-254; App.G.

After waiting almost three weeks, and despite the Stay and notice that Relators

disputed the effectiveness of the actions taken at the purported meeting, the

2 Notably, the Emergency Request for TRO sought an order giving Jeff control without even the fig leaf of the improper meeting the next day.

3 Sebastians then attempted to implement the unauthorized changes from their

improper meeting, causing significant disruption to the dealership operations.

App.A:253-254; App.G. On March 12, 2025, Jeff Sebastian contacted Classic West

Houston’s Controller, holding himself out as the Manager of that dealership. Jeff

demanded the Controller implement the Sebastians’ unilaterally dictated

compensation structure and give the Sebastians access to email, financial reports and

documents, keys, login access to systems, and other information. App.B. The

Sebastians further entered the dealership property to “work” – despite both stating

in their pleadings they were terminated months earlier. App.A:7; MR:391; Motion

p. 3. Despite clear notice their status was disputed and the subject of pending

litigation, they erroneously held themselves out as managers to the dealership

employees, causing confusion and dissension and forcing Classic West Houston to

significantly curtail operations, resulting in lost profits and reputational damage. Id.

The Sebastians refused to leave when requested and affirmatively stated through

counsel an intent to continue to disrupt Relators’ business and return the next day.

Id.

These actions gave rise to a new and independent cause of action for Classic

West Houston for conduct occurring after the filing of this original proceeding and

issuance of the Stay. While the Stay prevented the Sebastians’ efforts to litigate a

business dispute in the Divorce Court, it does not prevent these extrajudicial actions

4 because they were taken outside of the judicial process entirely. Faced with either

allowing the disruption of its business to continue indefinitely or seeking temporary

relief while the Mandamus Petition is pending, Classic West Houston sought relief

in Tarrant County—a proper venue for that matter3—to protect the status quo and

ability of Classic West Houston to operate until the Petition for Writ of Mandamus

is resolved. App.A; Motion Ex.1.

Accordingly, Classic West Houston filed a verified petition and application

for temporary injunction against the Sebastians under Cause No. 236-362746-25, in

the 236th District Court of Tarrant County (the “Tarrant County Litigation”). Motion

Ex.1; App.A. In doing so, Classic West Houston fully disclosed the procedural

history of this case to the Tarrant County District Court, including the existence of

the Stay. App.A: 6-7, 302-303; Motion Ex.1:5-6.

3 Relators’ Notice of Removal included the statutorily required recitation that venue was proper in the Eleventh District and, although the principal place of business of all three Classic Dealerships is in Tarrant County, one of the Classic Dealership store locations is in Ft. Bend County.

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In Re T. Bently Durant; Thomas R. Durant; The Durant Classic Dynasty Trust; Michael A. Ward; 8100 Partners, Ltd.; 8100 Management LLC; 8705 Partners, Ltd.; 8705 Management LLC; Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land LLC; Classic Chevrolet West Houston, LLC; Classic Elite Buick GMC, Inc.; And 16835 Cadet Partners, LLC v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2025).

In Re T. Bently Durant; Thomas R. Durant; The Durant Classic Dynasty Trust; Michael A. Ward; 8100 Partners, Ltd.; 8100 Management LLC; 8705 Partners, Ltd.; 8705 Management LLC; Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land LLC; Classic Chevrolet West Houston, LLC; Classic Elite Buick GMC, Inc.; And 16835 Cadet Partners, LLC v. the State of Texas (In Re T. Bently Durant; Thomas R. Durant; The Durant Classic Dynasty Trust; Michael A. Ward; 8100 Partners, Ltd.; 8100 Management LLC; 8705 Partners, Ltd.; 8705 Management LLC; Classic Chevrolet Sugar Land LLC; Classic Chevrolet West Houston, LLC; Classic Elite Buick GMC, Inc.; And 16835 Cadet Partners, LLC v. the State of Texas) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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