Case Information
*0 FILED IN 11th COURT OF APPEALS EASTLAND, TEXAS 6/23/17 11:40:03 AM SHERRY WILLIAMSON Clerk *1 ACCEPTED 11-17-00012-cv ELEVENTH COURT OF APPEALS EASTLAND, TEXAS 6/23/2017 11:40 AM SHERRY WILLIAMSON CLERK
No. 11-17-00012-CV IN THE 11th COURT OF APPEALS, EASTLAND, TEXAS ____________________________________________________________________________________
Zoe Saari, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Jeffery Saari, and A/N/F to L.S., Josh Saari and Jayme Saari and
All Other Potential Wrongful Death Beneficiaries Not Presently
Named Herein, Appellants,
v. Key Energy Services, Inc., Key Energy Pressure Pumping Services, LLC, Key Energy Services, LLC and Michael Walker
and Rebecca Hoidahl, Appellees.
___________________________________________________________________________________
KEY ENERGY SERVICES, INC., KEY ENERGY PRESSURE PUMPING SERVICES, LLC, KEY ENERGY
SERVICES, LLC, AND MICHAEL WALKER’S SUR REPLY TO APPELLEES’ MOTION TO APPOINT GUARDIAN AD LITEM FOR MINOR L. S.
___________________________________________________________________________________
TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS:
Key Energy Services, Inc., Key Energy Pressure Pumping Services, LLC, Key Energy Services, LLC, (“Key Entities”) and Michael Walker, Appellees, file
this their Sur Reply to Appellee’s Request for the Appointment of a Guardian ad
Litem to represent the interests of L. S., a minor, as required by Texas Rule of Civil
Procedure 173.
1. Rule 173 requires the appointment of a guardian ad litem when the next friend
“appears” to have an interest adverse to that of a minor. T EX . R. C IV . P. 173.2.
The question before the Court then, is simply this: Does Zoe Saari appear to have
an interest adverse to her minor daughter, L.S.?
2. A settlement offer has been made. Because Zoe Saari and L.S. would divide any
recovery, whether by settlement or judgment, an ad litem will be necessary to
accomplish either. In other words, since Zoe Saari and L.S. claim pieces of the
same pie, an ad litem must be appointed to ensure that L.S. gets her fair share.
Furthermore, settlement may be in the best interest of Zoe Saari or her daughter,
but not both—thus, an ad litem should be appointed to ensure that the offer is fairly
evaluated with L.S.’s best interest in mind. T EX . R. C IV . P. 173.4(c) (“When an
offer has been made to settle the claim of a party represented by a next friend or
guardian, a guardian ad litem has the limited duty to determine and advise the court
whether the settlement is in the party’s best interest.”).
3. The conflict here, however, is deeper and more immediate—given the potential
that next friend Zoe Saari’s claims are barred by limitations, it may not be in L.S.’s
best interest to take the same position on appeal as Zoe. A guardian ad litem
should be appointed to determine and advise the court as to the existence and
potential consequences of this apparent divergence of interests. See T EX . R. C IV .
P. 173.4(b) (“A guardian ad litem must determine and advise the court whether a
party’s next friend of guardian has an interest adverse to the party.”).
4. Appellees recognize that whether § 16.064 applies to bar the adult Appellants’
claims below is not yet before this court. However, as Appellants recognize, the
fact that Appellees can and will claim below that limitations bars the adult
Appellants’ claims creates a conflict of interest between Zoe Saari and the minor,
L.S. And despite Appellants’ accusations that Appellees are somehow “creating” a
conflict by raising the issue, Appellants have only their counsel to blame for the
divergence of their interests. Had counsel simply filed the case below in District
Court, rather than blatantly forum-shopping to avoid a 12-member jury panel,
limitations would not be an issue.
5. Appellants contend that, taken to its logical conclusion, Appellees’ argument might
result in counsel’s disqualification, but that is not the subject of the pending
motion. At this time, Appellees do not move for disqualification; rather, they seek
only the appointment of an ad litem to determine whether a conflict exists. If the
ad litem finds a conflict, he may very well suggest new counsel for L.S. to protect
her interests. But that is the duty of the ad litem—to evaluate the circumstances
and advise the Court so that the minor’s interests are protected. Because a conflict
“appears,” this Court should appoint an ad litem to ensure that L.S.’s interests are
protected. T EX . R. C IV . P. 173.2.
THEREFORE, Appellees move this Court to appoint an ad litem for the minor, L.S., and for such other and further relief to which they may be entitled.
Respectfully submitted, /s/ Brandy R. Manning State Bar No. 24029703 bmanning@wmafirm.com Pat Long-Weaver State Bar No. 12521975 plweaver@wmafirm.com LONG-WEAVER, MANNING, ANTUS & ANTUS LLP 310 W. Wall Street, Ste. 705 Midland, Texas 79701 Phone: 432-242-0470 Fax: 844-287-8884 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES (Key Entities)
/s/ Lyle Rathwell Lyle Rathwell State Bar Number 16562500 Lyle.Rathwell@steptoe-johnson.com Jason R. Grill State Bar Number 24002185 Jason.Grill@steptoe-johnson.com STEPTOE & JOHNSON PLLC 10001 Woodloch Forest Dr., Suite 300 The Woodlands, Texas 77380 Phone: (281) 203-5700 Fax: (281) 203-5701 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE WALKER CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE *5 I certify that this Motion complies with the length and typeface requirements of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, and that it contains 600 words
according to Microsoft Word’s word count feature.
/s/ Brandy R. Manning CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned certifies that a copy of the foregoing instrument was served on the following via electronic filing on the 23 rd day of June, 2017:
Kevin B. Miller
kevin@mblaw.org
LAW OFFICES OF MILLER & BICKLEIN
455 E. University, Ste. D-5
Odessa, TX 79762
Attorney for Plaintiffs and Intervenor,
Mariah Saari
J. Stephen Dix
Carmenh@dixforman.com
DIX & FORMAN, PC
2606 E. 10th St.
Tucson, AZ 85716
Attorney for Intervenors
Glen G. Halsell
Glen.halsell@gmail.com
620 North Grant, Suite 1100
Odessa, TX 79761
Attorney for Defendant Rebecca Johnson
F/N/A Rebecca Hoidahl
R. Layne Rouse
lrouse@shaferfirm.com
SHAFER, DAVIS, O'LEARY & STOKER
P.O. Box Drawer 1552
Odessa, Texas 79760
Attorney for Defendants
Leonard and Alta Saari
/s/ Brandy R. Manning