Appellants The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston, Inc. (the

“Houston BBB”), The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston Education

Foundation, Dan Parsons, Chris Church, Church Enterprises, Inc., Gary Milleson,

Ronald N. McMillan, D’Artagnan Bebel, Mark Goldie, Charlie Hollis, and Steven

Lufburrow (collectively, the “Houston BBB Defendants”) file this response to

Appellees’ Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Mediation and reply in

support of Appellants’ motion to vacate the Memorandum Order of Referral to

Mediation and related orders and would respectfully show the Court as follows:

After the Houston BBB Defendants filed their Motion to Vacate

Memorandum Order of Referral to Mediation and Related Orders (“Motion to

Vacate”), Appellees John Moore Services, Inc. and John Moore Renovation, LLC

(collectively, “John Moore”) filed an opposition to that motion and, in a separate

filing, requested another extension of the mediation deadline based on the illness of

John Moore’s counsel. For the reasons stated in the Motion to Vacate, the Houston

BBB Defendants oppose John Moore’s request for another extension of the

mediation deadline.

This is an accelerated, interlocutory appeal based on the Texas Citizens’

Participation Act, a statute that is intended, among other things, to affect a prompt

resolution of certain claims. Yet, this serial litigation has been ongoing for years

and this appeal has been effectively abated for six months. The prior delays have

thwarted the Legislature’s intent and prejudiced the Houston BBB Defendants, and

any additional delay would only compound those circumstances. ^[1] The Houston

BBB Defendants simply seek to have this appeal decided so this litigation can

proceed to a conclusion.

For these reasons, the Houston BBB Defendants respectfully request that

Appellees’ Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Mediation be denied in its

entirety and that the Court vacate its April 1, 2015 Memorandum Order of Referral

to Mediation and the related orders extending the mediation deadlines.

Dated: October 12, 2015.

*4 Respectfully submitted, P ORTER H EDGES LLP By: /s/ Lauren Beck Harris Texas Bar No. 02009470 lharris@porterhedges.com Jeffrey R. Elkin Texas Bar No. 06522180 Susan K. Hellinger Texas Bar No. 00787855 M. Harris Stamey Texas Bar No. 24060650 1000 Main Street, 36 th Floor Houston, Texas 77002 Telephone: (713) 226-6624 Facsimile: (713) 226-6224 ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN HOUSTON, INC., THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU OF METROPOLITAN HOUSTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION, DAN PARSONS, CHRIS CHURCH, CHURCH ENTERPRISES, INC., GARY MILLESON, RONALD N. MCMILLAN, D’ARTAGNAN BEBEL, MARK GOLDIE, CHARLIE HOLLIS, AND STEVEN LUFBURROW *5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Pursuant to Rules 6.3 and 9.5(b), (d), and (e) of the Texas Rules of Appellate

Procedure, this is to certify that on this 12th day of October 2015, a true and

correct copy of the foregoing was served on the following counsel of record by

U.S. first class mail and by electronic delivery as follows:

Lori Hood

Bobbie L. Stratton

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, P.C.

1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3700

Houston, TX 77010

(713) 650-9700

(713) 650-9701

Attorneys for Appellees John

Moore Services, Inc. and John

Moore Renovation, LLC

/s/ Lauren B. Harris 5122501v3

[1] Notably, John Moore does not dispute that the prior extensions of the mediation deadline have prejudiced the Houston BBB Defendants. It only argues, wrongly, that another extension “would not create any further prejudice for Appellants.” Appellees’ Response at 2.