John Lawton v. David W. Lawton, Individually, as Former Independent of the Estate of Joseph G. Lawton, and as Former Agent for Joseph G. Lawton Under a Power of Attorney ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
01-15-00193-CV
FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
6/3/2015 9:52:01 AM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
No. 01-15-00193-CV
FILED IN
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS 1st COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON, TEXAS
6/3/2015 9:52:01 AM
AT HOUSTON CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Clerk
JOHN LAWTON,
Appellant,
v.
DAVID W. LAWTON, INDIVIDUALLY, AS INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR
OF THE ESTATE OF JOSEPH G. LAWTON, DECEASED AND AS FORMER
AGENT FOR JOSEPH G. LAWTON UNDER A POWER OF ATTORNEY,
Appellee.
On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 1, Fort Bend County, Texas,
Trial Court Cause No. 14-CCV-053769
UNOPPOSED FIRST MOTION FOR EXTENSION
OF TIME TO FILE BRIEF OF APPELLANT
TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:
Appellant, John Lawton, respectfully files this unopposed first motion for
extension of time to file his appellant’s brief.
1. The present deadline for filing the appellant’s brief is June 4, 2015.
2. Appellant seeks a thirty-two day extension, until July 6, 2015, in
which to file his brief.
3. This is Appellant’s first request for an extension of time to file his
brief.
4. This motion is unopposed.
1640.002/561580
5. Appellant needs the additional time to file his appellant’s brief with
this Court for the following reasons:
Lead appellate counsel for Appellant, Connie Pfeiffer, is responsible for
preparation of the appellant’s brief. In addition to her work on the brief in this
case, Ms. Pfeiffer has been engaged in other litigation with imminent deadlines
that have prevented her from completing the brief before the deadline, including,
but not limited to, the following:
 Assistance with preparation of petitioner’s reply brief on the
merits in No. 13-0986, Southwestern Energy Production
Company v. Toby Berry-Helfand, In the Supreme Court of
Texas. This is a multi-million dollar judgment involving cross-
appeals. The reply brief on the merits was filed on May 7,
2015, after one extension.
 Assistance with preparation of reply to response to summary
judgment motion, and preparation for trial and jury charge in
Cause No. 2009-79721, Frank M. Bufkin III, and Twin
Resources, LLC v. Arena Resources, LLC, et al., In the 234
Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas. The reply to
response to summary judgment motion was filed on May 7,
2015. Trial is set to begin on June 22, 2015.
 Assistance in preparation for and attendance at pre-trial
hearings, trial preparation, and attendance at trial in No. 2011-
61780, Gulf Coast Asphalt Company, L.L.C. and Trifinery, Inc. v.
Russell T. Lloyd and John M. O’Quinn and Associates, L.L.P., In
the 80th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas. Trial
began on May 18, 2015, and is expected to last four weeks.
 Preparation of petitioners’ brief on the merits in No. 14-0714,
Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A.,
In the Supreme Court of Texas. Petitioners’ brief on the merits
was filed on May 29, 2015, after two extensions.
1640.002/561580 2
 Preparation of article for presentation at the 25 th Annual
Conference on State and Federal Appeals, on June 4-5, 2015, in
Austin, Texas, titled Statutory Construction.
6. Appellate counsel for Appellant, William R. Peterson has been
engaged in other litigation with imminent deadlines that have prevented him from
completing the brief on the merits before the present deadline, including, but not
limited to, the following:
 Preparation of a petition for writ of mandamus in No.
14-15-00429-CV, In re Alba Zuyapa Martinez, In the
Fourteenth Court of Appeals. The petition was filed on May
12, 2015.
 Preparation of response to petition for writ of mandamus in No.
05-15-00572-CV; In re Greyhound Lines, Inc. and Dwayne
Garrett, In the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas, at Dallas. The
response was filed on May 13, 2015.
 Assistance with preparation of petitioners’ brief on the merits in
No. 14-0714, Alice M. Wood and Daniel L. Wood v. HSBC
Bank USA, N.A., In the Supreme Court of Texas. Petitioners’
brief on the merits was filed on May 29, 2015, after two
extensions.
 Preparation of a reply in support of a petition for writ of
mandamus in No. 14-15-00429-CV, In re Alba Zuyapa
Martinez, In the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. The reply will
be filed on June 3, 2015.
 Preparation of a response to a petition for writ of mandamus in
No. 14-0963, In re Oceanografia, In the Supreme Court of
Texas. Real Parties’ brief on the merits is due on June 17,
2014, after one extension.
 Preparation of motion to dismiss the indictment in No. 14-CR-
00388, Texas v. Kleinert; In the District Court for the Western
District of Texas.
1640.002/561580 3
7. This motion is not filed for the purpose of delay, but to allow counsel
adequate time to prepare the appellant’s brief.
For these reasons, Appellant respectfully requests that this Court grant him
an extension of time to file his appellant’s brief until July 6, 2015.
Respectfully submitted,
BECK REDDEN LLP
By: /s/ Constance H. Pfeiffer
Constance H. Pfeiffer
State Bar No. 24046627
cpfeiffer@beckredden.com
William Peterson
State Bar No. 24065901
wpeterson@beckredden.com
1221 McKinney, Suite 4500
Houston, TX 77010-2010
(713) 951-3700
(713) 951-3720 (Fax)
Esther Anderson
State Bar No. 00792332
esther@probateguardianship.com
Carolina Pfeiffer
State Bar No. 24067486
carolina@probateguardianship.com
ANDERSON PFEIFFER, PC
845 FM 517 West, Suite 200
Dickinson, TX 77539
(281) 488-6535
(281) 614-5205 (Fax)
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT
JOHN LAWTON
1640.002/561580 4
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that I conferred with Kimberly Hoesl, counsel for Appellee, and
Appellee does not oppose the requested extension.
/s/ William R. Peterson
William R. Peterson
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on June 3, 2015, a true and correct copy of the above and
foregoing Unopposed First Motion for Extension of Time to File Brief of Appellant was
forwarded to all counsel of record by the Electronic Filing Service Provider, if registered,
otherwise by email, as follows:
N. Kimberly Hoesl
J. B. (Trey) Henderson III
DOYLE, RESTREPO, HARVIN & ROBBINS, L.L.P.
440 Louisiana St #2300
Houston, TX 77002
khoesl@drhrlaw.com
thenderson@drhrlaw.com
Counsel for David W. Lawton,
Individually and As Independent Executor
/s/ Constance H. Pfeiffer
Constance H. Pfeiffer
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