Case Information
*0 FILED IN 1st COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 8/18/2015 3:27:24 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk *1 ACCEPTED 01-15-00174-cv FIRST COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 8/18/2015 3:27:24 PM CHRISTOPHER PRINE CLERK
No. 01-15-00174-CV IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT OF TEXAS TIM WOOTERS,
Appellant ,
vs. UNITECH INTERNATIONAL, INC., Appellee .
Appeal from the 55 th District Court of Harris County, Texas Docket No. 2012-10494
UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE APPELLANT’S BRIEF TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THIS COURT:
Appellant, Tim Wooters, respectfully requests that the Court grant him a 45-day extension of time, to and including October 6, 2015, for him to
file his Appellant’s Brief. In support, Wooters respectfully shows:
Procedural History 1. This appeal was perfected February 20, 2015. The Clerk’s Rec- ord was filed May 8, 2015. Volumes 1–16 of the Reporter’s Record were ini-
tially filed July 15, 2015. Subsequently, the Court Reporter refiled Volumes
11–16 on July 23, 2015. Based upon notice dated July 23, 2015, the Appel-
lant’s Brief is due Monday, August 24, 2015.
2. Volume 16 of the Reporter’s Record contains exhibits that were sealed by order of the trial court on November 17, 2014. The undersigned
counsel, which did not participate in any proceedings in the trial court pri-
or to the perfection of the appeal, were informed by the Clerk that they
could only have access to the sealed exhibits by seeking an order from the
trial court and having a copy of such order filed as part of a Supplemental
Clerk’s Record.
3. On August 3, 2015, Wooters filed Tim Wooter’s Motion to Modify Order Sealing Court Records . The Appellee filed a response in opposition on
August 14, 2015, and after a hearing on August 17, 2015, the trial court
granted the undersigned counsel the ability to view the sealed exhibits in
the Clerk’s office.
4. On August 18, 2015, Wooters requested that the clerk of the tri- al court to prepare a Supplemental Clerk’s Record.
5. Wooters has not previously sought an extension of time to file his Appellant’s Brief.
Grounds for Granting an Extension of Time 6. The Court should grant an extension of time upon the showing of any reasonable explanation. See National Union Fire Ins. Co. v. Ninth Court
of Appeals , 864 S.W.2d 58, 60 (Tex. 1993) (any demonstration of the need for
additional time, short of deliberate or intentional noncompliance, qualifies
as a reasonable explanation).
7. The undersigned counsel would not be doing their due dili- gence in representing Wooters in this appeal if they did not review the en-
tire appellate record prior to submitting a brief on the merits. This is espe-
cially true in this case where the Court may be asked to review the legal
and/or factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting part of the jury’s
verdict. At this point, the undersigned counsel has, at best, only a general
description of the sealed exhibits as provided on the parties’ exhibit lists.
8. Until the Supplemental Clerk’s Record containing the trial court’s order of August 17 is filed, the undersigned counsel will not be able
to examine the sealed exhibits in Volume 16 of the Reporter’s Record.
Based upon past experience with the Harris County District Clerk’s Office,
it usually takes 30 days to process requests for Clerk’s Records, no matter
the volume of the documents requested.
9. Accordingly, a 45 day extension of time is likely the minimum time necessary for Wooters’ counsel to complete a review of the entire rec-
ord and to file Wooters’ principal brief.
Agreement of Opposing Counsel 10. The undersigned attorney has conferred with opposing coun- sel, Leslie Hillendahl, regarding this Motion. She is not opposed to a 45 day
extension of time as requested herein.
WHEREFORE, for the foregoing reasons, the Appellant, Tim Woot-
ers, requests that the Court extend the deadline for him to file his Appel-
lant’s Brief to October 5, 2015, as well as such other relief which is appro-
priate.
Respectfully Submitted, Pendergraft & Simon, LLP 2777 Allen Parkway, Suite 800 Houston, TX 77019 Tel. 713-528-8555 Fax. 713-868-1267 /s/ William P. Haddock William P. Haddock Texas Bar No. 00793875 whaddock@pendergraftsimon.com Robert L. Pendergraft Texas Bar No. 15743500 rlp@pendergraftsimon.com Counsel for Tim Wooters *5 Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Unopposed
Motion for Extension of Time has been served on the following coun-
sel/parties of record via e-service or facsimile transmission, if e-service is
unavailable, in accordance with the T EX . R. A PP . P. 9.5 and local rules for
electronic filing on this 18 th day of August 2015:
Bri an W. Zimmerman
Leslie K. Hillendahl
Zimmerman, Axelrad, Meyer, Stern & Wise, P.C.
3040 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 1300
Houston, TX 77056
Fax. 713 - 212 - 2750
/s/ William P. Haddock William P. Haddock