Mary Louise Serafine v. Alexander Blunt Ashley Blunt Scott Lockhart Austin Drainage and Foundation, LLC D/B/A Austin Drainage and Landscape Development Viking Fence Company, Ltd. And Viking GP, LLC

Opinion

ACCEPTED

03-16-00131-CV

13045495

THIRD COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

10/4/2016 10:53:53 AM

JEFFREY D. KYLE

CLERK

NO. 03-16-00131-CV

_______________________________________________

FILED IN

3rd COURT OF APPEALS

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS10/4/2016 10:53:53 AM AT AUSTIN JEFFREY D. KYLE _______________________________________________ Clerk

Mary Louise Serafine,

Appellant

v.

Alexander Blunt, Ashley Blunt;

Scott Lockhart, Austin Drainage and Foundation, LLC D/B/A Austin Drainage and Landscape Development; Viking Fence Company, Ltd.; and Viking GP, LLC, Appellees.

APPELLEES’ FIRST JOINT UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE THEIR APPELLEES’ BRIEFS

TO THE HONORABLE THIRD COURT OF APPEALS:

Appellees Alexander and Ashley Blunt, Scott Lockhart, Austin Drainage and

Foundation, LLC D/B/A/ Austin Drainage and Landscape Development, Viking

Fence Company Ltd., and Viking GP, LLC (“the Appellees”) move pursuant to

Rules 10.5(b) and 38.6(d) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, and ask that

this Court grant a 37-day extension of time for filing their Appellees’ Briefs, from

October 26, 2016, until December 2, 2016.

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I. ARGUMENT & AUTHORITIES

1. The Court has the authority under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure

38.6(d) to extend the time to file Appellees’ Briefs. This Motion is filed in

accordance with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b)(1). No rule provides a

deadline to file this Motion to Extend. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(d).

2. The Appellees’ Briefs are currently due on October 26, 2016.

3. Counsel for the Blunt Appellees needs additional time to prepare the

Blunts’ Brief because, pursuant to a vacation notice previously filed with this

Court and attached hereto as Exhibit 1, counsel is currently out of the country on

pre-paid travel—at the time that Appellant’s Brief has been filed—and will not

return to the office until October 10, 2016.

4. Counsel for the Viking Appellees needs additional time to prepare the

Vikings’ brief because Counsel has been and will be occupied with preparing a

brief in Shull v. Westover Crossing (SA) HOA, Inc., et al., No. 04-15-00692-CV,

pending in the Fourth District Court of Appeals at San Antonio, Texas, and

preparing for oral argument in Soledad v. Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance

Co., No. 03-16-00203-CV, pending in the Third Court of Appeals at Austin, Texas.

5. Counsel for Appellee Scott Lockhart and Austin Drainage and

Foundation needs an extension of time because Counsel for Scott Lockhart and

Austin Drainage and Foundation will, in the coming weeks, be traveling and

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preparing for trial in other cases, which will prevent him from devoting sufficient

time to preparing Austin Drainage and Foundation’s brief.

6. Additionally, given the large number and complexity of the issues

presented, and the voluminous nature of the record designated by Appellant,

counsel for all Appellees need additional time to review the record and prepare the

Appellees’ Briefs.

7. Counsel requests a 37-day extension (rather than a standard 30-day

extension) because the 30th day falls on November 25, 2016, which is the day after

Thanksgiving. Counsel, therefore, respectfully request an additional week

thereafter, moving the deadline to December 2, 2016.

8. The requested extension of Appellees’ Brief deadlines will not

prejudice any party.

9. No extensions of time have previously been requested by or granted to

Appellees Alexander and Ashley Blunt, Scott Lockhart, Austin Drainage and

Foundation, or Appellees Viking Fence and Viking GP in this appeal.

10. The $10.00 filing fee has been submitted in connection with this

Motion.

II. PRAYER

For these reasons, Appellees Alexander and Ashley Blunt, Scott Lockhart,

Austin Drainage and Foundation, LLC D/B/A Austin Drainage and Landscape

4

Development, and Viking Fence Co., Ltd. and Viking GP, LLC respectfully pray,

without any opposition of any party, that this Court grant an extension of time to file

their Appellees’ Briefs from October 26 to December 2, 2016, which is 37 days from

the current deadline.

Respectfully submitted,

MARTENS, TODD, LEONARD, TAYLOR & AHLRICH

By: /s/ Amanda G. Taylor

Amanda Taylor ataylor@textaxlaw.com State Bar No. 24045921 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1950 Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 542-9898

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEES ALEXANDER AND ASHLEY BLUNT

THOMPSON COE COUSINS & IRONS, LLP

By:__/s/ Sara B. Churchin Wade C. Crosnoe State Bar No. 00783903 Sara B. Churchin State Bar No. 24073913 701 Brazos, Suite 1500 Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 708-8200 Telecopy: (512) 708-8777 E-Mail: wcrosnoe@thompsoncoe.com E-Mail: schurchin@thompsoncoe.com

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ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES VIKING FENCE COMPANY, LTD. AND VIKING GP, LLC

RAYDON & ASSOCIATES, LLC

By:__/s/ Ronald M. Raydon Ronald M. Raydon 1718 Fry Road, Suite 450 Houston, Texas 77084 Telephone: (281) 398-6402 Telecopy: (281) 398-6403 E-Mail: ron@raydonlaw.com

COUNSEL FOR APPELLEES SCOTT LOCKHART AND AUSTIN DRAINAGE & FOUNDATION, LLC

CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

As required by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 10.1(a)(5), we certify that counsel for the Blunt Appellees, the Lockhart/Austin Drainage Appellees and the Viking Appellees made a reasonable attempt to confer with all counsel about the merits of Appellees’ Motion. All parties are unopposed.

/s/ Amanda G. Taylor Amanda G. Taylor

/s/ Sara Berkeley Churchin Sara Berkeley Churchin

/s/ Ronald M. Raydon Ronald M. Raydon

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Appellees’ First Unopposed Joint Motion for Extension of Time to File Their Appellees’ Briefs has been electronically filed and served on counsel below on October 4, 2016. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.2(c)(1), 9.5(b)(1).

Mary Louise Serafine, Esq. P.O. Box 4342 Austin, Texas 78765 mlserafine@gmail.com Appellant, Pro Se

/s/ Sara Berkeley Churchin Sara Berkeley Churchin

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EXHIBIT 1 VACATION NOTICE

ACCEPTED

03-16-00131-CV

11234617

THIRD COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

6/20/2016 3:19:21 PM

JEFFREY D. KYLE

CLERK

MARTENS, TODD, LEONARD, TAYLOR & AHLRICH A GENERAL PARTNERSHIP ─────────────────────────────── JAMES F. MARTENS* 301 CONGRESS AVENUE, SUITE 1950 AMANDA G. TAYLOR‡ KELLI H. TODD DANIELLE V. AHLRICH AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701

LACY L. LEONARD KATIE M. WOLTERS ───────────────── (512) 542-9898 ───────────────── Attorneys at Law FAX (512) 542-9899 Attorneys at Law ───────────────── ───────────────── www.textaxlaw.com

*Board Certified in Tax Law ‡Board Certified in Appellate Law Texas Board of Legal Specialization Texas Board of Legal Specialization

June 20, 2016

Via Electronic Filing Court of Appeals, Third District of Texas Attn: Jeffrey Kyle, Clerk Price Daniel Sr. Building 209 West 14th Street, Room 101 Austin, Texas 78701

Re: 03-16-00131-CV, Mary Louise Serafine, Appellant v. Alexander Blunt;

Ashley Blunt; Scott Lockhart; Austin Drainage and Foundation, LLC d/b/a Austin Drainage and Landscape Development; Viking Fence Company, Ltd.; and Viking GP, LLC, Appellees

Dear Mr. Kyle:

I will be out of the office beginning Monday, September 19, 2016 through Friday, October 7, 2016, for prepaid travel out of the country. Accordingly, I would appreciate it if you would not schedule anything relating to this case during the days that I am out of this office. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

MARTENS, TODD, LEONARD, TAYLOR & AHLRICH

By: /s/ Amanda G. Taylor Amanda G. Taylor State Bar No. 24045921 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1950 Austin, Texas 78701 Telephone: (512) 542-9898 ataylor@textaxlaw.com

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEES ALEXANDER AND ASHLEY BLUNT

cc: Via E-service to:

Mary Louise Serafine (mlserafine@gmail.com) Ronald M. Raydon (ron@raydonlaw.com) Sara B. Churchin (schurchin@thompsoncoe.com) Wade C. Crosnoe (wcrosnoe@thompsoncoe.com)