The State of Texas v. Nonparty Patient No. 1, Nonparty Patient No. 2, Nonparty Patient No. 3, Nonparty Patient No. 4, Nonparty Patient No. 5, Nonparty Patient No. 6, Nonparty Patient No. 7, and Nonparty Patient No. 8, Nonparty Patient No. 9, Nonparty Patient No. 10, and Nonparty Patient No. 11

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 6, 2025
• Docket: 15-25-00023-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED 15-25-00023-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 3/6/2025 4:50 PM Cause No. DC-25-01823 CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK Nonparty Patient No. 1, § IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF FILED IN Nonparty Patient No. 2, § 15th COURT OF APPEALS Nonparty Patient No. 3, § AUSTIN, TEXAS Nonparty Patient No. 4, § 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM Nonparty Patient No. 5, § CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk Nonparty Patient No. 6, § Nonparty Patient No. 7, and § DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS Nonparty Patient No. 8, § Plaintiffs, § § v. § § The State of Texas, § Defendant. § 95TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

THE STATE OF TEXAS’S NOTICE OF APPEAL

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

of Texas gives notice of an appeal of the trial court’s oral denial of Defendants’ Plea to the

Jurisdiction and Plea in Abatement on March 6, 2025.

The State is entitled to an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Civil Practice and Remedies

Code § 51.014(a)(8), which allows for an immediate appeal from an order that denies a plea to the

jurisdiction.

The State appeals to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. This is an accelerated appeal as

provided by Texas Rule 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 the State’s appeal. This

interlocutory appeal meets all the prerequisites for the automatic stay to apply. See Tex. Civ. Prac.

& Rem. Code § 51.014(a)(8), (b), (c)(1). Pursuant to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 6.001, as governmental officers, Defendants are not required to file a supersedeas bond for court costs. The

State’s appeal is therefore perfected upon the filing of the notice of appeal.

Dated: March 6, 2025 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

/s/ Johnathan Stone JOHNATHAN STONE Chief, Consumer Protection Division State Bar No. 24071779

ROB FARQUHARSON Assistant Attorney General State Bar No. 24100550

Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 Austin, Texas 78711 Johnathan.Stone@oag.texas.gov Rob.Farquharson@oag.texas.gov Telephone: (512) 463-2185 Facsimile: (512) 473-8301

ATTORNEYS FOR TEXAS

2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on the 6th day of March 2025, a copy of the foregoing document was

served to all counsel of record in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

/s/ Johnathan Stone JOHNATHAN STONE Chief, Consumer Protection Division State Bar No. 24071779

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.

Pauline Sisson on behalf of Johnathan Stone Bar No. 24071779 pauline.sisson@oag.texas.gov Envelope ID: 98170563 Filing Code Description: Copy of Notice of Appeal Filing Description: 20250306 States Notice of Appeal Status as of 3/7/2025 9:05 AM CST

Case Contacts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Johnathan Stone johnathan.stone@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Rob Farquharson rob.farquharson@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

David G. Shatto david.shatto@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

David Walsh 791874 dwalsh@katxlaw.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Abby Smith abby.smith@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Christopher Molak christopher.molak@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Ian Bergstrom Ian.Bergstrom@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Amy Pletscher amy.pletscher@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

David Phillips DPhillips@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Jamie Vargo JVargo@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Houston Docket ecf_houston@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Thanh Nguyen tdnguyen@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Evan Lewis 24116670 edlewis@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Olivia Wogon owogon@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Jervonne Newsome 24094869 jnewsome@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

William Logan 24106214 wlogan@winston.com 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Pauline Sisson pauline.sisson@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Emily Samuels emily.samuels@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT

Melinda Pate melinda.pate@oag.texas.gov 3/6/2025 4:50:15 PM SENT