MOTION for Leave to File Reply Brief Exceeding Page Limit filed by Harvinder Singh Gill, Wei Li, Albert Sacco, Jr., Mark Sheridan, Sindee Lou Simon, Texas Tech¶
Zapata Hincapie v. Texas Tech University et al, No. 5:23-cv-00045-H (N.D. Tex.) · Dkt. 28 · 2023-10-12 · PDF
Text extracted from the PDF; scanned pages were read by OCR. The PDF is the authoritative copy.
Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 28 Filed 10/12/23 Page 1 of 3 PageID 399 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, Defendants. § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:23-cv-00045 JURY DEMANDED (Plaintiff) DEFENDANTS’ OPPOSED MOTION TO EXCEED PAGE LIMIT OF REPLY TO PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO FIRST AMENDED MOTION TO DISMISS 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 Opposed Motion to Exceed Page Limit of Reply (Reply) to Plaintiff’s Response to First Amended Motion to Dismiss. In support, Defendants respectfully offer the following for consideration by the Court: On June 30, 2023, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint that is 62 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. Doc. No. 11. Plaintiff sued not only Texas Tech University but also sued nine individual Defendants. Id. 1 Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 28 Filed 10/12/23 Page 2 of 3 PageID 400 On July 31, 2023, Defendants filed a First Amended Brief in Support of their First Amended Motion to Dismiss. Doc. No. 19. Plaintiff filed a Response thereto on August 31, 2023. Doc. No. 22. On October 12, 2023, Defendants filed their Reply to Plaintiff’s Response. Doc. No. 27. Due to Plaintiff’s lengthy complaint and the complex nature of the claims, including constitutional law and qualified immunity issues, substantial briefing was required by Defendants 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. Defense counsel contacted Plaintiff’s counsel who unfortunately did not respond with a position prior to the filing of this motion. Accordingly, Defendants assume that Plaintiff is opposed. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Defendants respectfully request this motion be granted thereby accepting Defendants’ Reply to Plaintiff’s Response to the motion to dismiss in its entirety, including the one additional page beyond the 10-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. Respectfully submitted. KEN PAXTON Attorney General BRENT WEBSTER First Assistant Attorney General GRANT DORFMAN Deputy First Assistant Attorney General JAMES LLOYD Acting Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation CHRISTOPHER HILTON Chief, General Litigation Division /s/ Jason T. Contreras Jason T. Contreras Assistant Attorney General Texas Bar No. 24032093 Jason.Contreras@oag.texas.gov 2 Case 5:23-cv-00045-H Document 28 Filed 10/12/23 Page 3 of 3 PageID 401 Office of the Attorney General 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 October 12, 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