John Moore Services, Inc. and John Moore Renovation, LLC v. the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston Inc.

Opinion

ACCEPTED 01-14-00906-CV FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/12/2015 5:23:40 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK

No. 01-14-00906-CV

FILED IN IN THE 1st COURT OF APPEALS FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/12/2015 5:23:40 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk

JOHN MOORE SERVICES, INC. AND JOHN MOORE RENOVATION, LLC,

Appellants, v.

THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN HOUSTON, INC.,

Appellee.

APPELLEE’S RESPONSE TO APPELLANTS’ MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE MEDIATION AND REPLY IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEE’S MOTION TO VACATE MEMORANDUM ORDER OF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION AND RELATED ORDERS

Lauren B. Harris Texas Bar No. 02009470 lharris@porterhedges.com Jeffrey R. Elkin Susan K. Hellinger M. Harris Stamey PORTER HEDGES LLP 1000 Main Street, 36th Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone: (713) 226-6624 Facsimile: (713) 226-6224 Attorneys for Appellee TO THE HONORABLE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS:

Appellee The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, Inc. (the

“Houston BBB”) files this response to Appellants’ Motion for Extension of Time

to Complete Mediation and reply in support of Appellee’s motion to vacate the

April 1, 2015 Memorandum Order of Referral to Mediation and related orders and

would respectfully show the Court as follows:

After the Houston BBB filed its Motion to Vacate Memorandum Order of

Referral to Mediation and Related Orders (“Motion to Vacate”), Appellants John

Moore Services, Inc. and John Moore Renovation, LLC (collectively, “John

Moore”) filed an opposition to that motion and, in a separate filing, requested

another extension of the mediation deadline based on the illness of John Moore’s

counsel. For the reasons stated in the Motion to Vacate, the Houston BBB opposes

John Moore’s request for another extension of the mediation deadline.

This is an accelerated, interlocutory appeal based on the Texas Citizens’

Participation Act, a statute that is intended, among other things, to affect a prompt

resolution of certain claims. Yet, this serial litigation has been ongoing for years

and this appeal has been effectively abated for six months. The prior delays have

thwarted the Legislature’s intent and prejudiced the Houston BBB Defendants, and

2 any additional delay would only compound those circumstances.1 The Houston

BBB simply seeks to have this appeal decided so this litigation can proceed to a

conclusion.

For these reasons, the Houston BBB respectfully requests that Appellants’

Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Mediation be denied in its entirety and

that the Court vacate its April 1, 2015 Memorandum Order of Referral to

Mediation and the related orders extending the mediation deadlines.

Dated: October 12, 2015.

1 Notably, John Moore does not dispute that the prior extensions of the mediation deadline have prejudiced the Houston BBB. It only argues, wrongly, that another extension “would not create any further prejudice for the Houston BBB.” Appellants’ Response at 2.

3 Respectfully submitted,

PORTER HEDGES LLP

By: /s/ Lauren B. Harris Lauren B. Harris Texas Bar No. 02009470 lharris@porterhedges.com Jeffrey R. Elkin Texas Bar No. 06522180 Susan K. Hellinger Texas Bar No. 00787855 M. Harris Stamey Texas Bar No. 24060650 1000 Main Street, 36th Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone: (713) 226-6624 Facsimile: (713) 226-6224

Attorneys for Appellee The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, Inc.

4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Pursuant to Rules 6.3 and 9.5(b), (d), and (e) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, this is to certify that on this 12th day of October, 2015, a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served on the following counsel of record by U.S. first class mail and by electronic delivery as follows:

Lori Hood Bobbie L. Stratton Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C. 1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3700 Houston, TX 77010 (713) 650-9700 (713) 650-9701 Attorneys for Appellants John Moore Services, Inc. and John Moore Renovation, LLC

/s/ Lauren B. Harris Lauren B. Harris

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