Unopposed MOTION for Leave to File Brief Exceeding Page Limit filed by Gerardine Gabriela Botte, Chau-Chyun Chen, Harvinder Singh Gill, Wei Li, Albert Sacco, Jr., Mark¶
Zapata Hincapie v. Texas Tech University et al, No. 5:23-cv-00045-H (N.D. Tex.) · Dkt. 7 · 2023-06-09 · PDF
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Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 7 Filed 06/09/23 Page 1 of 3 PageID 107 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS LUBBOCK DIVISION JOHN ALEXANDER ZAPATA HINCAPIE, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, Dr. Sindee Lou Simon, Dr. Albert Sacco, Jr., Dr. Mark A. Sheridan, Dr. Brandon Weeks, Dr. Gerardine Gabriela Botte, Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen, Dr. Siva Vanapalli, Dr. Wei Li, Dr. Harvinder Singh Gill, Defendant. § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:23-cv-00045 JURY DEMANDED (Plaintiff) DEFENDANTS’ UNOPPOSED MOTION TO EXCEED PAGE LIMIT OF BRIEF Defendants Texas Tech University (TTU), Dr. Sindee Lou Simon, Dr. Albert Sacco, Jr., Dr. Mark A. Sheridan, Dr. Brandon Weeks, Dr. Gerardine Gabriela Botte, Dr. Chau-Chyun Chen, Dr. Siva Vanapalli, Dr. Wei Li and Dr. Harvinder Singh Gill (the Individual Defendants) (all defendants collectively as “Defendants”) file this Unopposed Motion to Exceed Page Limit of Brief. In support, Defendants respectfully offer the following for consideration by the Court: On March 7, 2023, Plaintiff filed an Original Complaint that is 57 pages in length, alleging claims under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for race and national origin discrimination and retaliation, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, as well as the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, through 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff sued not only Texas Tech University but also nine individual Defendants. Doc. No. 1. On June 9, 2023, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss that is 33 total pages in length thus 8 pages in excess of the 25-page limit allowed under L.R. 7.2(c). Due to Plaintiff’s lengthy complaint 1 Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 7 Filed 06/09/23 Page 2 of 3 PageID 108 and the complex nature of the claims, including constitutional law and qualified immunity issues, substantial briefing was required by Defendants in order to fully and adequately respond thereto. In the interest of justice, compelling and extraordinary reasons exist to grant this motion, including Defendants’ right to defend against Plaintiff’s barrage of claims. Counsel for Defendants contacted Plaintiff’s counsel who indicated he is unopposed to this motion. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Defendants respectfully request that this motion be granted thereby accepting Defendants’ Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss in its entirely, including all pages beyond the 25-page limit under L.R. 7.2(c). Defendants further request all other relief both at law and in equity to which they may be justly entitled, including but not limited to attorney fees and costs. Respectfully submitted. John Scott Provisional Attorney General Brent Webster First Assistant Attorney General Grant Dorfman Deputy First Assistant Attorney General Shawn Cowles Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation Kimberly Gdula Deputy Chief, General Litigation Division Ryan Kercher Deputy Chief, General Litigation Division /s/ Jason T. Contreras JASON T. CONTRERAS Assistant Attorney General Texas Bar No. 24032093 Jason.Contreras@oag.texas.gov Office of the Attorney General 2 Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 7 Filed 06/09/23 Page 3 of 3 PageID 109 General Litigation Division P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711-2548 Phone: 512-463-2120 Fax: 512-320-0667 Attorneys for Defendants CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was served through the Court’s EM/ECF system on June 9, 2023 to: Mark S Whitburn Whitburn & Pevsner, PLLC 2000 E Lamar Blvd, Suite 600 Arlington, TX 76006 817-653-4547 Fax: 817-653-4477 Email: mwhitburn@whitburnpevsner.com /s/ Jason T. Contreras JASON T. CONTRERAS Assistant Attorney General 3