State Board of Social Worker Examiners v. Katherin Youniacutt and Tammy Thompson

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: April 25, 2025
• Docket: 15-25-00064-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

4/25/2025 9:17 AM Velva L. Price District Clerk Travis County CAUSE NO. D-1-GN-24-009236 D-1-GN-24-009236 Rosa Oneal KATHERIN YOUNIACUTT and § IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF FILED IN TAMMY THOMPSON § 15th COURT OF APPEALS Plaintiffs, § AUSTIN, TEXAS § 4/25/2025 2:21:36 PM v. § TRAVISCHRISTOPHER COUNTY, TEXAS A. PRINE Clerk § TEXAS STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL § WORKER EXAMINERS, et. al., § § Defendants. § 345TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

NOTICE OF ACCELERATED INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL AND AUTOMATIC STAY

Pursuant to Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 25.1(a) and 26.1(b), Defendants, Texas State

Board of Social Worker Examiners; Dolores Saenz-Davila, Katie Andrade, Korina Delapeña, Ryan

Dollinger, Asia Rodgers, Lea Ann Tatum, and Jennifer Swords, in their official capacities as members

of the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners; Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council

(“TBHEC”); Darrel D. Spinks, in his official capacity as Executive Director of TBHEC; Gloria

Canseco, John K. Bielamowicz, Mark E. Cartwright, Steven Hallbauer, Daniel W. Parrish, and

Christopher S. Taylor, in their official capacities as members of TBHEC; and Brian C. Brumley and

Quida J. Pryor, in their official capacities as members of both the Texas State Board of Social Worker

Examiners and TBHEC (collectively, “Defendants”), give notice of an appeal of the court’s order on

April 14, 2025 denying Defendants’ Plea to the Jurisdiction.

Defendants are entitled to an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies

Code section 51.014(a)(4) and (8), which allow for an immediate appeal from an order that denies a

plea to the jurisdiction. Defendants appeal to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. This is an accelerated

appeal as provided by Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 28.1. This is not a parental termination or

child protection case, as defined in Rule 28.4. Pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 51.014(b), all further proceedings in this

court are stayed pending resolution of Defendants’ appeal. Pursuant to Section 6.001, as a

governmental officers, Defendants are not required to file a bond for court costs. Defendants’ appeal

is therefore perfected upon the filing of the notice of appeal.

Respectfully Submitted.

KEN PAXTON Attorney General of Texas

BRENT WEBSTER First Assistant Attorney General

RALPH MOLINA Deputy First Assistant Attorney General

AUSTIN KINGHORN Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation

KIMBERLY GDULA Chief for General Litigation Division

/s/ John Ramsey JOHN RAMSEY Attorney-in-Charge Texas State Bar No. 24051227 john.ramsey@oag.texas.gov

ALI THORBURN Texas Bar No. 24125064 ali.thorburn@oag.texas.gov

Assistant Attorneys General General Litigation Division P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711-2548 (512) 463-2120 | FAX: (512) 320-0667

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS

2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on April 25, 2025, a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was

served via the electronic filing system to all counsel of record.

/s/ John Ramsey JOHN RAMSEY Assistant Attorney General

3 Automated Certificate of eService This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system. The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules.

Laura Hendrix on behalf of John Ramsey Bar No. 24051227 Laura.Hendrix@oag.texas.gov Envelope ID: 100081552 Filing Code Description: Notice of Appeal Filing Description: NOTICE OF ACCELERATED INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL AND AUTOMATIC STAY Status as of 4/25/2025 11:32 AM CST

Case Contacts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Arif Panju 24070380 apanju@ij.org 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

James Knight jknight@ij.org 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Andrew Ward andrew.ward@ij.org 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Ashlynn Acosta aacosta@ij.org 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Claire Purple cpurple@ij.org 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Associated Case Party: TEXAS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Laura Hendrix laura.hendrix@oag.texas.gov 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

John Ramsey John.Ramsey@oag.texas.gov 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Ali Thorburn ali.thorburn@oag.texas.gov 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT

Ariana Ines ariana.ines@oag.texas.gov 4/25/2025 9:17:59 AM SENT