City of Coppell, Texas; City of Humble, Texas; City of DeSoto, Texas; City of Carrollton, Texas; And City of Farmer's Branch, Texas // Kelly Hancock, in His Official Capacity as Acting Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas v. Kelly Hancock, in His Official Capacity as Acting Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas // City of Coppell, Texas; City of Humble, Texas; City of DeSoto, Texas; City of Carrollton, Texas; City of Farmer's Branch, Texas; And City of Round Rock, Texas

ACCEPTED
15-25-00022-CV
FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
8/21/2025 4:09 PM
No. 15-25-00022-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
CLERK
In the Court of Appeals FILED IN
For the Fifteenth Judicial District of Texas 15th COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM
CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS, ET AL., Clerk
Appellants/Cross-Appellees,
v.
KELLY HANCOCK, ACTING COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS OF THE STATE
OF TEXAS,
Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

On Appeal from the 201st Judicial District Court, Travis County, Texas
Cause No. D-1-GN-21-003198; consolidated with D-1-GN-21-003203

Appellants’ and Cross-Appellant’s Joint Motion
to Extend Time to File Opening Briefs

James B. Harris KEN PAXTON
State Bar No. 09065400 Attorney General of Texas
james.harris@hklaw.com BRENT WEBSTER
Stephen F. Fink First Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 07013500 RALPH MOLINA
stephen.fink@hklaw.com Deputy First Assistant Attorney General
Richard B. Phillips, Jr. AUSTIN KINGHORN
State Bar No. 24032833 Deputy Attorney General for Civil
rich.phillips@hklaw.com Litigation
STEVEN ROBINSON
Holland & Knight LLP Division Chief, Tax Litigation Division
1722 Routh Street, Suite 1500 KYLE PIERCE COUNCE
Dallas, Texas 75201 State Bar No. 24082862
Phone: (214) 964-9500 kyle.counce@oag.texas.gov
Assistant Attorney General
Counsel for Coppell Tax Litigation Division
Parties P. O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
Phone: (512) 463-3112
Counsel for Comptroller

Page 1 of 7
To the Honorable Court of Appeals:

1. Under Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 2, 10.5(b), and 38.6(d), Appellants

City Coppell, Texas, City of Humble, Texas, City of DeSoto, Texas, City of

Carrollton, Texas, and City of Farmers Branch, Texas (the “Coppell Parties”) and

Cross-Appellant Kelly Hancock, in his official capacity as Acting Comptroller of

Public Accounts of the State of Texas (the “Comptroller”) respectfully request a 30-

day extension on the due dates for their opening briefs.

2. This is an appeal and cross-appeal arising from a dispute about the meaning

of certain provisions of the Texas Tax Code and related rules in the Texas

Administrative Code. The Coppell Parties’ opening brief as appellants and

Comptroller’s opening brief as cross-appellant are currently due on Wednesday,

August 27, 2025. The requested extension would make the briefs due on Friday,

September 26, 2025.

3. The Comptroller is not opposed to the requested extension of the due date for

the Coppell Parties’ opening brief. The Coppell Parties are not opposed to the

requested extension of the due date for the Comptroller’s opening brief. And counsel

for Appellee the City of Round Rock, Texas has indicated that the City of Round

Rock is not opposed to the Comptroller’s requested extension.1

1
The City of Round Rock did not appeal the final judgment and therefore its only capacity in
this Court is as an appellee as to the Comptroller’s cross-appeal.

Page 2 of 7
4. The Coppell Parties request this extension because their counsel has been and

will be occupied with other matters that will prevent them from filing the brief by

the current due date. Among other matters, counsel has been occupied with the

following:

(a) assisting with post-judgment briefing in Cockerill et al. v. Corteva, Inc., et
al., No. 2:21-cv-03966-MMB, a class action pending in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania;
(b) assisting with initial appellate filing and the appellants’ opening brief on
appeal, in No. 25-2312, Cockerill et al. v. Corteva, Inc., et al., pending in
the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (the appeal arising
from the class action described in item (a));
(c) preparing and filing a reply in support of a motion to dismiss certain
appellants filed on August 4, 2025, in No. 15-24-00114-CV, Cecile E.
Young, in her official capacity as Executive Commissioner of the Texas
Health & Human Services Commission v. Cook Children’s Health Plan, et
al., pending in the Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth District of Texas;

(d) preparing for and attending the hearing on plaintiffs’ motion for judgment
on August 12, 2025, in Cause No. 2020-32320, Bestway Oilfield, Inc. v.
Cox, et al., pending in the 270th Judicial District Court, Harris County,
Texas;

(e) assisting (on an emergency basis) with responding to a motion filed in No.
CJ-2025-641, Capron v. Comerica Bank, pending in the District Court of
Tulsa County, Oklahoma;
(f) preparing and filing the relators’ reply in support of their petition for writ of
mandamus on August 13, 2025 in No. 13-25-00345-CV, In re QFP II, LP
and RGV II, LLC, pending in the Court of Appeals for the Thirteenth District
of Texas;

(g) working on a petition for review due (following the grant of an extension)
on August 13, 2025, in In re Estate of Long, No. 25-0601, pending in the
Supreme Court of Texas; and

Page 3 of 7
(h) preparing the opening brief of appellant due on September 2, 2025, in No.
10-25-00088-CV, In re Estate of Kling (consolidated for briefing with No.
10-25-00089-CV, In re Guardianship of Kling), pending in the Court of
Appeals for the Tenth District of Texas.

5. The Comptroller requests this extension because their counsel has been and

will be occupied with other matters that will prevent them from filing the brief by

the current due date. Among other matters, counsel has been occupied with the

following:

a) Deborah J. Rao, who had been lead counsel on this appeal prior to the
Comptroller filing its change of designation of agency counsel on July
29, 2025, left the Office of the Attorney General and thus will not be
available to assist with the appellate briefing;

b) working on Discovery, Plea to the Jurisdiction, and Motion for
Summary Judgment in Cause No. D-1-GN-23-002189, Ryan, LLC, v.
Kelly Hancock, in his Official Capacity as Acting Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts, pending in the 459th District Court of Travis County,
Texas;

c) working on a Plea to the Jurisdiction and Motion for Summary
Judgment in Cause No. D-1-GN-19-003740, The Consortium Venture,
Inc., v. Glenn Hegar, Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of
Texas and Ken Paxton, Attorney General of the State of Texas, pending
in the 53rd District Court of Travis County, Texas;

d) assisting with a Joint Motion for Summary Judgment, set for August
12, 2025, in Cause No. 2023-CI-27126, Liza Zambrano v. Texas
Workforce Commission and Lux Bakery, Inc., pending in the 288th
District Court of Bexar County, Texas;

e) assisting with a Plea to the Jurisdiction, set for August 10, 2025, in
Cause No. 2020-CI-12466, Steve A. Casarez v. Texas Workforce
Commission, pending in the 37th District Court of Bexar County, Texas;

Page 4 of 7
f) assisting with a Plea to the Jurisdiction, set for August 13, 2025, in
Cause No. 2024-CI-24564, Glenn Samuels v. Texas Workforce
Commission, pending in the 288th District Court of Bexar County,
Texas; and

g) assisting with oral argument, set for September 10, 2025, in Cause No.
24-0037, NuStar Energy, L.P., v. Kelly Hancock, Acting Texas
Comptroller of Public Accounts and Ken Paxton, Attorney General of
the State of Texas, pending the Supreme Court of Texas;

Therefore, the Coppell Parties and the Comptroller request that the Court

extend the deadline for their opening briefs to Friday, September 26, 2025. The

Coppell Parties and the Comptroller further request general relief.

Page 5 of 7
Dated: August 21, 2025

Respectfully submitted,

HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas
By: /s/ James B. Harris (with permission)
BRENT WEBSTER
James B. Harris
First Assistant Attorney General
State Bar No. 09065400
james.harris@hklaw.com
RALPH MOLINA
Deputy First Assistant Attorney
Stephen F. Fink
General
State Bar No. 07013500
stephen.fink@hklaw.com
AUSTIN KINGHORN
Richard B. Phillips, Jr. Deputy Attorney General for Civil
State Bar No. 24032833 Litigation
rich.phillips@hklaw.com
STEVEN ROBINSON
1722 Routh Street, Suite 1500 Division Chief, Tax Litigation Division
Dallas, Texas 75201
Phone: (214) 964-9500 /s/ Kyle Pierce Counce
Kyle Pierce Counce
COUNSEL FOR COPPELL State Bar No. 24082862
PARTIES kyle.counce@oag.texas.gov
Assistant Attorney General
Tax Litigation Division
P. O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
T: (512) 463-3112
F: (512) 478-4013

ATTORNEYS FOR COMPTROLLER

Page 6 of 7
CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE

Counsel for the Comptroller discussed this motion with Cindy Olson
Bourland, counsel for Appellee the City of Round Rock, Texas by email, who
indicated that the City of Round Rock, Texas is not opposed to the requested
extension.

/s/ Kyle Pierce Counce
Kyle Pierce Counce
Deputy Division Chief

Page 7 of 7
Automated Certificate of eService
This automated certificate of service was created by the efiling system.
The filer served this document via email generated by the efiling system
on the date and to the persons listed below. The rules governing
certificates of service have not changed. Filers must still provide a
certificate of service that complies with all applicable rules.

Kyle Counce on behalf of Kyle Counce
Bar No. 24082862
kyle.counce@oag.texas.gov
Envelope ID: 104696116
Filing Code Description: Motion
Filing Description: 20250821 Coppell Sales Joint Motion to Extend
Deadline f
Status as of 8/21/2025 5:00 PM CST

Associated Case Party: City of Coppell, Texas

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Richard Phillips 24032833 Rich.Phillips@hklaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Reed Randel 24075780 Reed.Randel@hklaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Stephen Fink 7013500 Stephen.Fink@hklaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

James Harris 9065400 jim.harris@hklaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Case Contacts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Bryan Dotson 24072769 bryan.dotson@chamberlainlaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Cynthia Bourland 790343 bourland@bourlandlaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Brandon L.King brandon.king@hklaw.com 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT

Associated Case Party: Glenn Hegar, in his official capacity as Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Kyle Counce 24082862 Kyle.Counce@oag.texas.gov 8/21/2025 4:09:39 PM SENT