Harris County v. International Paper Company ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
01-15-00354-CV
FIRST COURT OF APPEALS
HOUSTON, TEXAS
5/7/2015 2:08:15 PM
CHRISTOPHER PRINE
CLERK
No. 01-15-00354-CV
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FILED IN
1st COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT HOUSTON
HOUSTON, TEXAS
5/7/2015 2:08:15 PM
HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS,
CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
Clerk
AND
THE STATE OF TEXAS, ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, A NECESSARY AND INDISPENSABLE PARTY,
Appellant/Cross Appellee,
V.
INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY,
Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
On Appeal from the 295th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas
MOTION FOR BRIEFING SCHEDULE
KEN PAXTON ANTHONY W. BENEDICT
Attorney General of Texas Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 02129100
CHARLES E. ROY Anthony.Benedict@texasattorneygeneral.gov
First Assistant Attorney General
LINDA B. SECORD
JAMES E. DAVIS Assistant Attorney General
Deputy Attorney General State Bar No. 17973400
for Civil Litigation Linda.Secord@texasattorneygeneral.gov
JON NIERMANN Environmental Protection Division
Chief, Environmental Protection P.O. Box 12548, MC-066
Division Austin, Texas 78711-2548
Tel: (512) 463-2012
MARY E. SMITH Fax: (512) 320-0911
Assistant Attorney General ATTORNEYS FOR THE TEXAS
State Bar No. 24041941 COMMISSION ON
Mary.Smith@texasattorneygeneral.gov ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY’S
RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY’S
MOTION FOR BRIEFING SCHEDULE
On May 5, 2015, International Paper Company (“IP”) filed its Motion for
Briefing Schedule. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”), a
necessary and indispensable party pursuant to Tex. Water Code § 7.353, asks this
Court to enter the following consolidated briefing schedule, which recognizes
TCEQ’s unique role in this case and extends the schedule by only 20 days, as an
alternative to IP’s proposal.
BACKGROUND
The trial court entered a final judgment in the underlying case on January 20,
2015. On April 17 and 22, 2015, respectively, Harris County and TCEQ filed notices
of appeal. On April 30, 2015, IP filed a notice of cross-appeal. On May 5, 2015, IP
filed a motion for briefing schedule.
ARGUMENT
The TCEQ asks the Court to order the following briefing schedule subject to
any motion for extension of time:
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Filing Due Date
Harris County’s appellant brief 30 days after the record is filed
TCEQ’s appellant brief 10 days after Harris County’s appellant
brief is filed
International Paper’s appellee and 30 days after the TCEQ’s appellant
cross-appellant brief brief is filed
Harris County’s reply to appellee brief 20 days after International Paper’s
and response to cross-appellant brief appellee/cross-appellant brief is filed
TCEQ’s reply to appellee brief and 10 days after Harris County’s
response to cross-appellant brief reply/response brief is filed
International Paper’s cross-reply brief 20 days after TCEQ’s reply/response
brief is filed
TCEQ’s proposed schedule allows for the 30-day extension for the filing of
International Paper’s cross-appellant brief and the waiver of TCEQ’s own
appellant’s reply brief, as requested in International Paper’s motion. The only
difference between the two schedules is TCEQ’s request for a ten-day extension to
file its appellant brief and its reply/response to International Paper’s appellee and
cross-appellant brief.
The TCEQ seeks this additional time because of its unique role in this case.
Under the Water Code, local governments, like Harris County, may bring suits to
enforce certain rules and statutes administered by the TCEQ. Tex. Water Code
§ 7.351. The TCEQ is a statutory necessary and indispensable party so that it may
address statewide interests that arise in this and similar cases. See Tex. Water Code
§ 7.353. Although the TCEQ anticipates working closely with Harris County to
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coordinate its briefing, until Harris County’s briefing is final, the TCEQ will not
know whether and to what extent additional briefing may be necessary to address
state interests. The TCEQ requests a modest amount of additional time for its initial
and reply/response briefs so that it may focus on these state interests without undue
repetition of Harris County’s briefs, conserving the resources of this Court and the
parties to the case.
PRAYER
For the reasons stated above, the TCEQ asks the Court to grant its motion for
briefing schedule.
Respectfully submitted,
KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas
CHARLES E. ROY
First Assistant Attorney General
JAMES E. DAVIS
Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation
JON NIERMANN
Chief, Environmental Protection Division
/s/ Mary E. Smith
MARY E. SMITH
Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 24041947
ANTHONY W. BENEDICT
Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 02129100
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LINDA B. SECORD
Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 17973400
Office of the Attorney General of Texas
Environmental Protection Division
P. O. Box 12548, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
(512) 463-2012
(512) 320-0911 (Facsimile)
Mary.Smith@texasattorneygeneral.gov
Anthony.Benedict@texasattorneygeneral.gov
Linda.Secord@texasattorneygeneral.gov
ATTORNEYS FOR THE TEXAS
COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY
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CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
I certify that on April 29, 2015, and May 4, 2015, Linda Secord conferred with
counsel for International Paper regarding the briefing scheduled proposed in this
motion. And, on May 6, 2015, I conferred with Harris County regarding the
proposed schedule. International Paper opposes the schedule because it prefers the
schedule in its motion. Harris County is unopposed to the schedule proposed in this
response.
/s/ Mary E. Smith
Mary E. Smith
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s
Response to International Paper Company’s Motion for Briefing Schedule was
served on each person listed below via e-service and e-mail on May 7, 2015.
/s/ Mary E. Smith
Mary E. Smith
Winstol D. Carter, Jr. Allyson N. Ho
Craig A. Stanfield Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP 1717 Main St., Suite 3200
1000 Louisiana St., Suite 4000 Dallas, TX 75201
Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone: (214) 466-4000
Telephone: (713) 890-5000 Facsimile: (214) 466-4001
Facsimile: (713) 890-5001 Email: aho@morganlewis.com
Email: wcarter@morganlewis.com Attorneys for International Paper, Inc.
Email: cstanfield@morganlewis.com
Attorneys for International Paper, Inc.
Debra Tsuchiyama Baker Rock W.A. Owens
Earnest W. Wotring Terence L. O’Rourke
Michael Connelly Vince Ryan
John Muir Harris County Attorney
David George Office of the Harris County Attorney
Connelly, Baker, Wotring, LLP Texas Bar No. 15311000
700 JPMorgan Chase Tower 1019 Congress, 15th Floor
600 Travis Street Houston, Texas 77002
Houston, Texas 77002 Email: Rock.Owens@cao.hctx.net
Email: dbaker@connellybaker.com Attorneys for Harris County
Email: ewotring@connellybaker.com
Email: mconnelly@connellybaker.com
Email: jmuir@connellybaker.com
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