FILED

14-0404
SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
5/21/2014 2:04:05 PM
BLAKE HAWTHORNE
CLERK

NO. ____________________

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS

In re:
ESTATE OF THOMAS TREVINO ARAGUZ, III,
Deceased

PETITIONERS HEATHER DELGADO AND

SIMONA LONGORIAS FIRST UNOPPOSED MOTION FOR
EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE PETITIONS FOR REVIEW

TO THE HONORABLE SUPREME COURT:

Pursuant to Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 10.5(b) and 53.7(f),
Petitioners, Heather Delgado and Simona Longoria, files this their First Unopposed
Motion for Extension of Time to File their Petitions for Review.
1.

The present deadline for Petitioners Heather Delgado and Simona

Longoria, the Appellees below, to file their petitions for review is May 30, 2014.
This is Petitioners first motion for extension of time to file their petitions for
review.
2.

Petitioners now seek a 30-day extension of time to file their petitions

for review and requests that the deadline be extended from May 30, 2014 to June
30, 2014.

3.

This motion is unopposed.

4.

Petitioner Heather Delgado intervened in this action filed by

Petitioner Simona Longoria entitled In the Estate of Thomas Trevino Araguz, III,
Deceased, No. 44,575, in the District Court of Wharton County, Texas, 329th
Judicial District, against Respondent Nikki Page Araguz. Petitioners each filed a
motion for summary judgment, and Respondent filed a motion for summary
judgment. On May 26, 2011, the trial court granted Petitioners motions for
summary judgment and denied Respondents motion for summary judgment. On
June 24, 2011, Respondent filed a Motion for Reconsideration and Motion for New
Trial. The trial court denied Respondents motions on July 6, 2011.
5.

Respondent appealed the trial courts summary judgment in In the

Estate of Thomas Trevino Araguz, III, Deceased, No. 13-11-00490-CV, Thirteenth

Court of Appeals, Corpus ChristiEdinburg. On February 13, 2014, the court of
appeals reversed the trial courts judgment and remanded the case for further
proceedings consistent with its opinion.
6.

On March 7, 2014, Respondent filed a Motion for Rehearing, seeking

rendition of judgment or, in the alternative, revision of statements in the courts

opinion. On April 15, 2014, the court of appeals denied Respondents Motion for
Rehearing.

7.

Petitioners do not make this request lightly. Petitioners believe a

thirty-day extension is needed for the filing of their petitions for review. Since the
court of appeals denial of Respondents Motion for Rehearing, Petitioners counsel
has been diligently working on Petitioners petitions for review. However, at the
same time, Petitioner Heather Delgados counsel also has been working
extensively on responses to Daubert challenges in In re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.
Pinnacle Hip Implants Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2244, In the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which are due May 23,
2014, pursuant to the MDLs scheduling order; a motion for summary judgment, a
jury charge, and anticipated Daubert challenges in Julie K. Hutchings, et al. v.
United Parcel Service, Inc. et al., No. 2:13-CV-246-JRG-RSP, in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which is set for trial on June 9,
2014; motions for summary judgment in Blue Sky Golden FPS, Ltd. v. Fulcrum
Energy, LLC, et al., No. 2010-39531, in the 234th District Court of Harris County,
Texas, which is set for trial on June 30, 2014; and a motion to dismiss and a
motion to transfer venue in Sisoian v. International Business Machines
Corporation, No. 6:13-cv-344, in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas, which were set for hearing on May 14, 2014. Petitioner Simona
Longorias counsel likewise has been working extensively on other cases with
multiple hearings scheduled between now and the present deadline.
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8.

The issue in this case is the legality of transgender marriages.

Because the issue in this case is a matter of first impression, and because
Petitioners counsel will need to devote some uninterrupted time in order to
complete preparation of Petitioners petitions for review, Petitioners are requesting
a thirty-day extension of time for filing their petitions for review from May 30,
2014 to June 30, 2014.
9.

Petitioners do not file this motion for the purpose of delay, but to

allow counsel adequate time to prepare Petitioners petitions for review, which will
thoroughly appraise the court of the issues that Petitioners seek to appeal and the
arguments that will be asserted in their briefs if this Court grants review.
For these reasons, Petitioners, Heather Delgado and Simona Longoria,
request that the Court grant this extension and extend the deadline for filing
Petitioners petitions for review to June 30, 2014.
Respectfully submitted,
THE LANIER LAW FIRM, P.C.
By:

/s/ Kevin P. Parker

W. Mark Lanier; SBN: 11934600
Kevin P. Parker; SBN: 15494020
Kevin.parker@lanierlawfirm.com
Natalie Van Houten Armour
SBN: 24070785
P.O. Box 691448
Houston, Texas 77269-1448
Telephone: (713) 659-5200
Telecopier: (713) 659-2204

Frank E. Mann
State Bar No.: 12924250
Law Offices of Frank E. Mann
6750 West Loop South, Suite 120
Bellaire, Texas 77401
Telephone: 713/524-6868
Facsimile: 713/524-1931
ATTORNEYS FOR PETITIONER
HEATHER DELGADO
By:

/s/ Chad P. Ellis, by permission

Chad P. Ellis
SBN: 24003278
chad@ei-law.com
Ellis & Irwin, L.L.P.
302 Jackson Street
Telephone: 832/595-1242
Facsimile: 832/595-1906

ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER,

SIMONA LONGORIA

CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE
This is to certify that on May 19, 2014, Natalie Armour, one of the counsel
for Petitioner Heather Delgado, spoke with Kent Rutter, counsel for Respondent
Nikki Araguz, regarding this extension and he indicated he was not opposed to the
motion.
/s/ Kevin P. Parker
Kevin P. Parker
SBN: 05494020
kevin.parker@lanierlawfirm.com

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
This is to certify that a true and correct copy of Petitioners First Unopposed
Motion for Extension of Time to File their Petitions for Review has been served on
the following counsel in accordance with the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure
on May 21, 2014.
Kent Rutter
Haynes and Boone, LLP
1221 McKinney Street, Suite 2100
Houston, Texas 77010
Kenneth E. Broughton
Reed Smith, LLP
811 Main Street, Suite 1700
Houston, Texas 77002
Alene Ross Levy
Alene Levy Law Firm, P.L.L.C.
6262 Woods Bridge Way
Houston, Texas 77007
Phyllis Randolph Frye/Darrell Steidley
Frye & Associates, PLLC
3315 Mercer
Houston, Texas 77027
Mitchell Katine/John Nechman
Katine & Nechman, L.L.P.
1111 North Loop West, Suite 180
Houston, Texas 77008
Kay J. Hazelwood
Schwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout
909 Fannin, Suite 2700
Houston, Texas 77010
/s/ Kevin P. Parker
Kevin P. Parker
kevin.parker@lanierlawfirm.com
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