U.S. Sand & Gravel LLC, Raitz Enterprises, Inc., and Raitz Investment Group LLC v. Texas Department of Transportation

Opinion

ACCEPTED

15-25-00091-CV

FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

7/3/2025 4:09 PM

No. 15-25-00091-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK

FILED IN

15th COURT OF APPEALS

In the Court of Appeals for the AUSTIN, TEXAS

Fifteenth District of Texas 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM

CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE

at Austin Clerk

U.S. SAND & GRAVEL, LLC, RAITZ ENTERPRISES, INC., and RAITZ INVESTMENT GROUP, LLC,

Appellants

v.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee

Restricted Appeal from Cause No. D-1-GN-24-004334 In the 449th District Court of Travis County, Texas

APPELLANTS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE OPENING BRIEF

William L. Mennucci Kasey Rachel Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons, L.L.P. Dorsett Johnson, LLP 2801 Via Fortuna, Suite 300 421 W. Third Street, Suite 700 Austin, Texas 78746 Fort Worth, Texas 76102 Telephone: (512) 703-5085 Telephone: (817) 900-8202 Facsimile: (512) 708-8777 Facsimile: (817) 882-8526 Email: bmennucci@thompsoncoe.com Email: krachel@dorsettjohnson.com

Counsel for Appellants

TO THE HONORABLE FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS:

Appellants U.S. Sand & Gravel, LLC, Raitz Enterprises, Inc., and Raitz Investment Group, LLC file this Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time to File Opening Brief. Appellants’ opening brief is due to be filed on July 7, 2025. Appellants seek an extension of 90 days to file their opening brief, in order to give the parties time to complete their ongoing efforts to resolve the underlying trial court judgment and dispute that gives rise to this appeal, without having to expend the parties’ and the Court’s time, expense and resources that would be involved in prosecuting this appeal.

No previous motions to extend filing deadlines have been filed in this matter, and no extensions of time have been granted. Counsel for Appellants has conferred with opposing counsel, and counsel for Appellee is not opposed to this motion or the requested 90-day extension.

In support of this motion, Appellants rely on the following facts:

Appellants own and operate sand and gravel pits. On July 15, 2024, Appellee Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) brought suit against Appellants seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties, alleging Appellants had failed to secure safety certificates required by the Texas Aggregate Quarry and Pit Safety Act, TEX. NAT. RES. CODE § 133.001, et. seq., for three of Appellants’ pits. TXDOT secured a default judgment from the trial court on February 12, 2025, which included a

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permanent injunction requiring Appellants to cease operations at the three pits, and $20,000 in civil penalties.

Appellants filed a motion to vacate the default judgment and for new trial, arguing that they had not been properly served with process. The trial court denied the motion and on May 16, 2025, Appellants filed their notice of restricted appeal to this Court.

Shortly after Appellants filed their notice of appeal, counsel for Appellants and counsel for the Texas Attorney General’s Office (representing Appellee TXDOT) had a conference call in which both sides expressed an interest in trying to resolve the matters in dispute between the parties informally, without the necessity of prosecuting the appeal. The discussions in the conference call led to the execution of a Rule 11 agreement on May 22, 2025. (Copy attached as Exhibit 1). Essentially, Appellants agreed to submit applications for safety certificates for the three pits along with the required fee; and TXDOT agreed to promptly conduct inspections of the pits, review the applications, and make a determination of whether the safety certificates would issue. TXDOT also agreed to temporarily suspend its efforts to enforce the judgment while these steps were being completed.

During June 2025, the parties have worked to complete the items required under the Rule 11 agreement. Appellants have submitted applications for safety certificates, TXDOT has conducted inspections, and TXDOT is reviewing the

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applications and is determining whether the certificates will issue, or whether Appellants need to make any changes to their operations in order to secure the certificates.

In light of these ongoing efforts to resolve the judgment and the issues that gave rise to the suit, Appellants respectfully seek an extension of the July 7, 2025 opening brief deadline for 90 days, i.e., until October 6, 2025. Appellants believe that a 90-day extension will allow adequate time for the parties to complete the process of securing the safety certificates and for resolving the judgment and the disputes between the parties. The 90-day extension is requested to promote efficiency and to conserve judicial resources of the parties and the Court, because it will allow them to avoid expending time, expense and judicial resources on this appeal that may ultimately prove unnecessary, assuming the parties can resolve the dispute.

For the foregoing reasons, Appellants respectfully requests that the Court grant this motion, and extend Appellants’ deadline to file its opening brief from July 7, 2025 for 90 days, to October 6, 2025.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ William L. Mennucci

William L. Mennucci

State Bar No. 00788042

THOMPSON, COE, COUSINS & IRONS, L.L.P.

2801 Via Fortuna, Suite 300

4

Austin, Texas 78746

(512) 703-5085

E-mail: bmennucci@thompsoncoe.com Lead Counsel

Kasey Rachel

Dorsett Johnson, LLP

421 W. Third Street, Suite 700 Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Telephone: (817) 900-8202 Facsimile: (817) 882-8526 Email: krachel@dorsettjohnson.com

Counsel for Appellants

CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

I certify that on the 3rd day of July, 2025, I conferred with Joshua Longi of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, appellate counsel for Appellee, about the relief sought herein and Mr. Longi indicated that Appellee is unopposed to the requested extension.

/s/ William L. Mennucci

William L. Mennucci

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on July 3, 2025, a true and correct copy of Appellants’

Unopposed Motion for Extension of Time to File Opening Brief was served on the following counsel pursuant to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure:

Joshua Longi Assistant Attorney General Transportation Division P.O. Box 12548 Austin, Texas 78711-2548 Telephone: (512) 383-6280 joshua.longi@oag.texas.gov

/s/ William L. Mennucci

William L. Mennucci

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.

Christi Benoit on behalf of William Mennucci Bar No. 788042 Cbenoit@thompsoncoe.com Envelope ID: 102770643 Filing Code Description: Motion Filing Description: Motion - Exempt Status as of 7/3/2025 4:22 PM CST

Case Contacts Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status William LMennucci bmennucci@thompsoncoe.com 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM SENT Brent Coffee 24076319 brent.coffee@oag.texas.gov 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM SENT Krissi Martinez kmartinez@thompsoncoe.com 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM SENT Christi Benoit Cbenoit@thompsoncoe.com 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM SENT Joshua Longi 24095228 joshua.longi@oag.texas.gov 7/3/2025 4:09:48 PM SENT