Bacon-Tomsons, LTD., BRL Oil and Gas, L.L.C. and Ferrell Edwin Munson v. Chrisjo Energy, Inc., Jack M. Cline and Imperial Petroleum, Inc. ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
01-15-00305-CV
FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
6/8/2015 4:42:18 PM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
NO. 01-15-00305-CV
IN THE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS FILED IN
1st COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS HOUSTON, TEXAS
6/8/2015 4:42:18 PM
CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Clerk
BACON-TOMSONS, LTD., BRL OIL AND GAS, L.L.C.,
AND FERRELL EDWIN MUNSON,
Appellants
v.
CHRISJO ENERGY, INC. AND JACK M. CLINE,
Appellees
On Appeal from the 122nd District Court
Galveston County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 12CV0428
APPELLANTS’ RESPONSE TO MOTION TO ABATE
TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS:
COME NOW, Appellants Bacon-Tomsons, Ltd., BRL Oil and Gas, L.L.C.,
and Ferrell Edwin Munson (“Appellants”), and file this their Response to Appellee
Chrisjo Energy, Inc. and Jack M. Cline’s Motion to Abate (“Motion to Abate”),
and would show the Court show as follows:
1. The Court should DENY Appellees’ Motion to Abate. On March 4,
2015, the trial court judge, Honorable John Ellisor, signed an order granting
Appellees’ [Defendants’] Motion for Directed Verdict (“Order”).
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2. The Order was docketed by the District Clerk on March 10, 2105, as
“Judgment – Final – Directed Verdict (J.N.O.V.) – OCA.” See Exhibit “A”. When
the Order was signed by the trial court judge, it disposed of all parties and claims.
There is a presumption that a judgment signed following a conventional trial on the
merits disposes of all parties and claims and is final. See Vaughn v Drennon, 324
S.W.3d 560-562-63 (Tex. 2010).
3. On March 18, 2015, Appellees filed a Motion for Entry of An Award
of Attorney’s Fees and For Entry of Final Judgment in Light of Directed Verdict.”
(“Motion for Attorney’s Fees”).
4. As of the date of the filing of this Response, the Court has not ruled
on Appellees’ Motion for Attorney’s Fees.
5. Since the Order was a final order, Appellees’ Motion for Attorney’s
Fees was a motion intended to modify the Order as suggested in Appellees’ Motion
to Abate. See Appellees’ Motion to Abate, pg 2, ¶ 5.
6. Pursuant to TEX. R. CIV. P. 329b(c), Appellees’ Motion for
Attorney’s Fees was overruled as a matter of law on the seventy-sixth (76) day
after March 4, 2015, or May 18, 2015.
7. TEX. R. CIV. P. 329b(c) provides that “[i]n the event an original or
amended motion for new trial or a motion to modify, correct or reform a judgment
is not determined by written order signed within seventy-five days after the
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judgment was signed, it shall be considered overruled by operation of law on
expiration of that period.”
PRAYER
WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Appellants Bacon-Tomsons,
Ltd., BRL Oil and Gas, L.L.C., and Ferrell Edwin Munson request this Court to
deny Appellee’s Motion to Abate, and for such other relief to which Appellants
may be entitled.
Respectfully submitted,
MURRAY | LOBB, PLLC
By: /s/ Kyle L. Dickson
Kyle L. Dickson
State Bar No. 05841310
700 Gemini, Suite 115
Houston, Texas 77058
Ph: (281) 488-0630
Fax: (281) 488-2039
Email: kdickson@murray-lobb.com
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS
BACON-TOMSONS, LTD., BRL OIL AND
GAS, L.L.C., AND FERRELL EDWIN
MUNSON
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
This is to certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document has
been forwarded to all parties and/or counsel of record in accordance with the Texas
Rules of Appellate Procedure on day June 8, 2015.
/s/ Kyle L. Dickson
Kyle L. Dickson
Robert E. Booth BY FAX TO (409) 877-1635 AND/OR
Mills Shirley L.L.P. BY ELECTRONIC SERVICE
2228 Mechanic Street, Suite 400
Galveston, TX 77550
Attorneys for Appellees
Chrisjo Energy, Inc. and Jack M. Cline
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