AG Ken Paxton's Appeal Notice

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CAUSE NO.

D-1-GN-22-000977

JANE DOE, et al., § IN THE DISTRICT COURT


Plaintiffs, §
§
v. § 201st JUDICIAL DISTRICT
§
GOVERNOR ABBOTT, et al., §
§
Defendants. § TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS

DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF ACCELERATED INTERLOCUTORY APPEAL

Defendants Greg Abbott in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Texas (“Governor

Abbott”), Jaime Masters in her official capacity of Commissioner of the Department of Family and

Protective Services (“Commissioner Masters”), and the Texas Department of Family and Protective

Services (“DFPS”) (collectively, “Defendants”) respectfully appeal the Court’s interlocutory order of

March 2, 2022. Said Order implicitly denied Defendants’ plea to the jurisdiction and granted Plaintiffs’

request for a temporary restraining order. The Order enjoins Defendants from taking any actions

against Plaintiffs based solely on the Governor’s February 22, 2022 letter and DFPS statement of the

same date, as well as Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0401; the Order further enjoins Defendants

from taking any employment action or investigating reports against Plaintiffs based solely on

facilitating or providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors based on the fact that the minors

are transgender, gender transitioning, or receiving or being prescribed gender-affirming medical

treatment.

Defendants are entitled to an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Civil Practice and Remedies

Code section 51.014(a)(8), which allows for an immediate appeal from an order that denies a plea to

the jurisdiction. Defendants appeal to the Third Court of Appeals. This is an accelerated appeal as

provided by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.1. This is not a parental termination or child

Defendants’ Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal Page 1


protection case, as defined in Rule 28.4.

Pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 51.014(b), all further proceedings in

this court are stayed pending resolution of Defendants’ appeal. Upon filing of this instrument, the

March 2, 2022 Order is superseded pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section

6.001(b) and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 29.1(b). Pursuant to section 6.001, as governmental

officers/entities, Defendants are not required to file a supersedeas bond for court costs. Defendants’

appeal is therefore perfected upon the filing of the notice of appeal.

Respectfully submitted,

KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas

BRENT WEBSTER
First Assistant Attorney General

GRANT DORFMAN
Deputy First Assistant Attorney General

SHAWN COWLES
Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation

THOMAS A. ALBRIGHT
Chief for General Litigation Division

/s/ Ryan G. Kercher _


RYAN G. KERCHER
Texas Bar No. 24060998
Assistant Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2548
Phone: 512-463-2120
Fax: 512-320-0667
[email protected]

Counsel for Defendants

Defendants’ Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal Page 2


CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document has been served electronically
through the electronic-filing manager in compliance with TRCP 21a on March 2, 2022 to:

Brian Klosterboer Brandt T. Roessler


Andre Segura BAKER BOTTS L.L.P.
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION 30 Rockerfeller Plaza
FOUNDATION OF TEXAS New York, New York 10112-4498
5225 Katy Fwy., Ste 350 Phone: 212-408-2500
Houston, TX 77007 [email protected]
Phone: 713-942-8146 Pro hac vice forthcoming
[email protected]
[email protected] Paul D. Castillo
Shelly L. Skeen
Chase Strangio Nicholas “Guilly” Guillory
James Esseks LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND
Anjana Samant EDUCATION FUND, INC.
Kath Xu 3500 Oak Lawn Ave., Unit 500
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION Dallas, Texas 75219
FOUNDATION OF TEXAS Phone: 214-219-8585
125 Broad St, 18th Floor [email protected]
New York, New York 10004 [email protected]
Phone: 917-345-1742 [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected] Omar Gonzalez-Pagan
[email protected] M. Curry Cook
[email protected] LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND
EDUCATION FUND, INC.
Derek R. McDonald 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor
Maddy R. Dwertman New York, New York 10005-3919
BAKER BOTTS L.L.P. Phone: 212-809-8585
98 San Jacinto Blvd, Ste 1500 [email protected]
Austin, Texas 78701-4078 [email protected]
Phone: 512-322-2500
[email protected] Camilla B. Taylor
[email protected] LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND
EDUCATION FUND, INC.
65 E. Wacker Place, Ste 2000
Chicago, IL 60601-7245
Phone: 312-663-4413
[email protected]

Defendants’ Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal Page 3


Karen L. Loewy
LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE AND
EDUCATION FUND, INC.
1776 K Street, N.W., 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20006-2304
Phone: 202-804-6245
[email protected]

Counsel for Plaintiffs

/s/ Ryan G. Kercher


RYAN G. KERCHER

Defendants’ Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal Page 4

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