Texas Department of Insurance and Cassie Brown, in Her Capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance v. Texas Land Title Association

Court of Appeals of Texas

Texas Department of Insurance and Cassie Brown, in Her Capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance v. Texas Land Title Association

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 23, 2025·No. 15-25-00107-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 15-25-00107-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 6/23/2025 5:07 PM No. 15-25-00107 CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK

FILED IN 15th COURT OF APPEALS IN THE FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS AUSTIN, TEXAS 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE

Clerk

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, AND CASSIE BROWN, IN HER CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE,

Appellants,

v.

TEXAS LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION,

Appellee.

On Appeal from the 345th Judicial District Court Travis County, Texas Cause No. D-1-GN-25-001663

APPELLANT’S RESPONSE TO

APPELLEE’S UNOPPOSED EMERGENCY MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF UNDER TEX. R. APP. P. 29.3

Appellant, Texas Department of Insurance and Cassie Brown, in Her Capacity

as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance (collectively “TDI”),

herewith file this response to Appellee, Texas Land Title Association’s (“TLTA”),

June 20, 2025, filing of its unopposed request for emergency relief on the grounds

set forth in the motion (TLTA’s unopposed “Emergency Motion”).

I. POSITION ON EMERGENCY MOTION

This afternoon, Monday, June 23, 2025, Appellants received a call from the

Clerk’s office at the 15th Court of Appeals and at the same time received a letter from

the Clerk directing Appellants to file a response to TLTA’s Emergency Motion by

Wednesday June 25, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. Ray Chester, counsel for TLTA, and the

undersigned, counsel for TDI, conferred regarding the Court’s request and conferred

regarding the need to file a short response as soon as possible. Counsel agreed that the

Court’s directive manifested a need for clarification and resolution of uncertainty about

the parties’ positions posed by Friday’s filing of the unopposed Emergency Motion.

In response, TDI provides the following short filing restating its position

regarding the unopposed Emergency Motion:

II. RESPONSE

In response to the 15th Court’s request, TDI notes the following:

1) TLTA’s unopposed Emergency Motion was, at the time of filing, and is,

currently, in fact “unopposed.” TDI did not and does not oppose TLTA’s Friday

Emergency Motion for the reasons discussed in the motion. The requested emergency

injunction is not only responsive to TLTA’s and its member’s needs for certainty and

continuity, but is also consistent with TDI’s June 12, 2025, notice to the title industry

that title agents and underwriters should continue to charge the current rates and should

not put into effect the 10% rate reduction.

2) While TDI does not concede or change its position in this appeal on any

claims, factual averments, or positions on the merits, TDI was, is, and remains

unopposed to TLTA’s emergency request for injunctive relief, which was focused

solely on approval of surgically precise emergency injunctive relief from the

Commissioner’s 10% rate decrease during the pendency of the appeal.

3) TDI agrees, as stated in the unopposed Emergency Motion, that the Court

should, under TRAP 29.3, lift the stay of the trial court’s May 30, 2025, temporary

injunction that resulted from TDI’s filing of its notice of appeal on June 19, 2025.

4) Alternatively, the Court should itself approve, under TRAP 29.3, for the

pendency of the appeal on an emergency basis, the temporary injunction approved by

the trial court in her May 30, 2025, Order Granting Temporary Injunction.

TDI is filing this response before the June 25, 2025, stated deadline to restore

assurance among the parties and the Court that that TLTA’s unopposed Emergency

Motion was, is, and remains, in fact, unopposed by TDI, as declared the filing.

III. CONCLUSION AND PRAYER

For the reasons stated herein, Appellant, TDI, was, is, and remains unopposed

to TLTA’s June 20, 2025, request for emergency relief from this Court under TRAP

29.3, and does not oppose the Court either lifting the stay of the trial court’s temporary

injunction that resulted from Appellant’s filing of its notice of appeal on June 19, 2025,

or, alternatively, approving under TRAP 29.3, the temporary injunction approved by

the trial court in her May 30, 2025, Order Granting Temporary Injunction on an

emergency basis for the pendency of this 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

ERNEST C. GARCIA Chief, Administrative Law Division

/s/ James Z. Brazell JAMES Z. BRAZELL State Bar No. 02930100 Assistant Attorney General ROSALIND HUNT State Bar No. 24067108 Assistant Attorney General Administrative Law Division OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711-2548 Telephone: (512) 475-3204 Facsimile: (512) 320-0167 James.Brazell@oag.texas.gov

ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AND CASSIE BROWN, IN HER CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

I hereby certify that pursuant to Tex. R. App. P. 29.3, on the 23rd day of June, 2025, I conferred with Ray Chester, counsel for Appellees, and Appellees do not oppose the relief sought in this response.

Respectfully submitted,

By /s/ James Z Brazell

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing First Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction has been served on June 23, 2025, on the following attorneys-incharge , by e-service and/or e-mail:

RAY C. CHESTER State Bar No. 04189065 ANDREW M. EDGE State Bar No. 24071446 MCGINNIS LOCHRIDGE LLP 1111 W. 6th Street, Bldg. B, Suite 400 Austin, Texas 78703 Telephone: (512) 495-6000 Facsimile: (512) 495-6093 rchester@mcginnislaw.com aedge@mcginnislaw.com

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF TEXAS LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION

/s/ James Z. Brazell JAMES Z. BRAZELL Assistant Attorney General

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.

Mayra Contreras on behalf of James Brazell Bar No. 2930100 mayra.contreras@oag.texas.gov Envelope ID: 102325398 Filing Code Description: Response Filing Description: 2025 0623 Appellants Response to Appellees Unopposed Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief JB6 001 Status as of 6/23/2025 5:32 PM CST

Associated Case Party: Texas Land Title Association

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Kim McBride kmcbride@mcginnislaw.com 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

Ray Chester rchester@mcginnislaw.com 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

Drew Edge aedge@mcginnislaw.com 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

Associated Case Party: Texas Department of Insurance

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

James Brazell James.Brazell@oag.texas.gov 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

Mayra Contreras mayra.contreras@oag.texas.gov 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

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