Texas Department of Insurance and Cassie Brown, in Her Capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance v. Texas Land Title Association

ACCEPTED 15-25-00107-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 6/23/2025 5:07 PM No. 15-25-00107 CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE CLERK __________________________________________________________________ FILED IN 15th COURT OF APPEALS IN THE FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS AUSTIN, TEXAS 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE __________________________________________________________________ Clerk TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, AND CASSIE BROWN, IN HER CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, Appellants, v. TEXAS LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION, Appellee. __________________________________________________________________ On Appeal from the 345th Judicial District Court Travis County, Texas Cause No. D-1-GN-25-001663 __________________________________________________________________ APPELLANT’S RESPONSE TO APPELLEE’S UNOPPOSED EMERGENCY MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RELIEF UNDER TEX. R. APP. P. 29.3 __________________________________________________________________ Appellant, Texas Department of Insurance and Cassie Brown, in Her Capacity as Commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance (collectively “TDI”), herewith file this response to Appellee, Texas Land Title Association’s (“TLTA”), June 20, 2025, filing of its unopposed request for emergency relief on the grounds set forth in the motion (TLTA’s unopposed “Emergency Motion”).

-1- 4046730.v2 I. POSITION ON EMERGENCY MOTION This afternoon, Monday, June 23, 2025, Appellants received a call from the Clerk’s office at the 15th Court of Appeals and at the same time received a letter from the Clerk directing Appellants to file a response to TLTA’s Emergency Motion by Wednesday June 25, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. Ray Chester, counsel for TLTA, and the undersigned, counsel for TDI, conferred regarding the Court’s request and conferred regarding the need to file a short response as soon as possible. Counsel agreed that the Court’s directive manifested a need for clarification and resolution of uncertainty about the parties’ positions posed by Friday’s filing of the unopposed Emergency Motion.

In response, TDI provides the following short filing restating its position regarding the unopposed Emergency Motion: II. RESPONSE In response to the 15th Court’s request, TDI notes the following: 1) TLTA’s unopposed Emergency Motion was, at the time of filing, and is, currently, in fact “unopposed.” TDI did not and does not oppose TLTA’s Friday Emergency Motion for the reasons discussed in the motion. The requested emergency injunction is not only responsive to TLTA’s and its member’s needs for certainty and continuity, but is also consistent with TDI’s June 12, 2025, notice to the title industry that title agents and underwriters should continue to charge the current rates and should not put into effect the 10% rate reduction.

-2- 4046730.v2 2) While TDI does not concede or change its position in this appeal on any claims, factual averments, or positions on the merits, TDI was, is, and remains unopposed to TLTA’s emergency request for injunctive relief, which was focused solely on approval of surgically precise emergency injunctive relief from the Commissioner’s 10% rate decrease during the pendency of the appeal.

3) TDI agrees, as stated in the unopposed Emergency Motion, that the Court should, under TRAP 29.3, lift the stay of the trial court’s May 30, 2025, temporary injunction that resulted from TDI’s filing of its notice of appeal on June 19, 2025.

4) Alternatively, the Court should itself approve, under TRAP 29.3, for the pendency of the appeal on an emergency basis, the temporary injunction approved by the trial court in her May 30, 2025, Order Granting Temporary Injunction.

TDI is filing this response before the June 25, 2025, stated deadline to restore assurance among the parties and the Court that that TLTA’s unopposed Emergency Motion was, is, and remains, in fact, unopposed by TDI, as declared the filing.

III. CONCLUSION AND PRAYER For the reasons stated herein, Appellant, TDI, was, is, and remains unopposed to TLTA’s June 20, 2025, request for emergency relief from this Court under TRAP 29.3, and does not oppose the Court either lifting the stay of the trial court’s temporary injunction that resulted from Appellant’s filing of its notice of appeal on June 19, 2025, or, alternatively, approving under TRAP 29.3, the temporary injunction approved by

-3- 4046730.v2 the trial court in her May 30, 2025, Order Granting Temporary Injunction on an emergency basis for the pendency of this appeal.

Respectfully submitted, KEN PAXTON Attorney General of Texas BRENT WEBSTER First Assistant Attorney General RALPH MOLINA Deputy First Assistant Attorney General AUSTIN KINGHORN Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation ERNEST C. GARCIA Chief, Administrative Law Division /s/ James Z. Brazell JAMES Z. BRAZELL State Bar No. 02930100 Assistant Attorney General ROSALIND HUNT State Bar No. 24067108 Assistant Attorney General Administrative Law Division OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711-2548 Telephone: (512) 475-3204 Facsimile: (512) 320-0167 [email protected] ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AND CASSIE BROWN, IN HER CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

-4- 4046730.v2 CERTIFICATE OF CONFERENCE I hereby certify that pursuant to Tex. R. App. P. 29.3, on the 23rd day of June, 2025, I conferred with Ray Chester, counsel for Appellees, and Appellees do not oppose the relief sought in this response.

Respectfully submitted, By /s/ James Z Brazell

-5- 4046730.v2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing First Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction has been served on June 23, 2025, on the following attorneys-in- charge, by e-service and/or e-mail: RAY C. CHESTER State Bar No. 04189065 ANDREW M. EDGE State Bar No. 24071446 MCGINNIS LOCHRIDGE LLP 1111 W. 6th Street, Bldg. B, Suite 400 Austin, Texas 78703 Telephone: (512) 495-6000 Facsimile: (512) 495-6093 [email protected] [email protected] ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF TEXAS LAND TITLE ASSOCIATION

/s/ James Z. Brazell JAMES Z. BRAZELL Assistant Attorney General

-6- 4046730.v2 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.

Mayra Contreras on behalf of James Brazell Bar No. 2930100 [email protected] Envelope ID: 102325398 Filing Code Description: Response Filing Description: 2025 0623 Appellants Response to Appellees Unopposed Emergency Motion for Temporary Relief JB6 001 Status as of 6/23/2025 5:32 PM CST Associated Case Party: Texas Land Title Association Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status Kim McBride [email protected] 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT Ray Chester [email protected] 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT Drew Edge [email protected] 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT

Associated Case Party: Texas Department of Insurance Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status James Brazell [email protected] 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT Mayra Contreras [email protected] 6/23/2025 5:07:16 PM SENT