Opinion
No. 04-13-00441-CV
11-13-2013
RIO GRANDE H2O GUARDIAN and Albert Furney Muller, Jr., Appellants v. ROBERT MULLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP LTD, DBA Robert Muller LTD and Rosetta Stone, LLC, Appellees
From the 111th Judicial District Court, Webb County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2009CVQ00801-D2
Honorable Monica Z. Notzon, Judge Presiding
ORDER
In this accelerated appeal, Appellees' brief was due to be filed by August 28, 2013. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.6(b). On the due date, Appellees filed an unopposed first motion for extension of time to file their brief but stated that they were attempting to settle all claims at mediation. On the court's own motion, we abated this appeal for thirty days to allow Appellants to reach a settlement with the City of Laredo. See id. R. 2; Transport Ins. Co. v. Faircloth, 898 S.W.2d 269, 280 (Tex. 1995) (public policy favors settlements).
On October 7, 2013, we granted Appellees' unopposed motion to extend the time this appeal is abated to give the parties additional time to settle until November 6, 2013. We warned the parties that "NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO ABATE THE APPEAL [WOULD] BE GRANTED."
As of this date, Appellees have not notified this court that the parties have reached a settlement. Therefore, we REINSTATE this appeal on this court's docket. As we notified Appellees in our October 7, 2013 order, Appellees' brief is due on November 26, 2013. We also repeat our earlier warning regarding Appellees' brief: NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS OF TIME TO FILE APPELLEES' BRIEF WILL BE GRANTED.
If Appellees fail to file the brief as ordered, the appeal will be set for submission without Appellees' brief. See Jackson v. Tex. Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, No. 01-03-00862-CV, 2008 WL 921035, at *1 n.2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Apr. 3, 2008, no pet.) (mem. op.) ("'In a civil case, the court will accept as true the facts stated [in appellant's brief] unless another party contradicts them.'" (alteration in original) (quoting TEX. R. APP. P. 38.1(g))).
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Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court on this 13th day of November, 2013.
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Keith E. Hottle
Clerk of Court