Mazda Motor of North America, Inc. A/K/A Mazda Motor of America, Inc. v. All Star Imports, Inc. D/B/A World Car Mazda North and Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

ACCEPTED 15-24-00039-CV FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 8/5/2025 5:15 PM Jeff Oldham CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Partner CLERK (512) 236-2232 (Direct Dial) (512) 236-2002 FILED(Direct IN Fax) 15th COURT OF APPEALS [email protected] AUSTIN, TEXAS 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM August 5, 2025 CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE Clerk Via E-File The Honorable Christopher A. Prine Clerk, Fifteenth Court of Appeals P.O. Box 12852 Austin, Texas 78711 Re: Mazda Motor of North America, Inc. a/k/a Mazda Motor of America, Inc. v. All Star Imports, Inc. d/b/a World Car Mazda North, et al.; No. 15-24-00039-CV; in the Fifteenth Court of Appeals Dear Mr. Prine: This letter by World Car Mazda North (“World Car North”), one of the Appellees in this cause, respectfully responds to the July 25, 2025 letter from the Court.

Background. Both this Cause No. 15-24-00039-CV, and the related Cause No. 15-24-00017-CV that the Court recently decided in a July 24, 2025 opinion, arise from the same administrative proceeding before the Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (“Board”).

In short, Appellant Mazda Motor of America (“Mazda”) sought to terminate World Car North’s dealership franchise; World Car North protested the proposed termination; and ultimately, the Board decided the dispute in a June 14, 2023 order largely adopting an ALJ’s proposed findings, conclusions, and recommendation of franchise termination.

World Car North and Mazda each timely moved for rehearing by the Board and the Board issued orders granting rehearing, but a question arose over whether the Board had timely acted on the parties’ motions for rehearing or instead had lost jurisdiction over the dispute. Out of an abundance of caution to protect its appellate rights (in case the Board were held to have lost jurisdiction), World Car North timely filed in

JW | Austin 100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100 • Austin, Texas 78701 | www.jw.com | Member of GLOBALAW™ The Honorable Christopher A. Prine Clerk, Fifteenth Court of Appeals August 5, 2025 Page 2 Travis County district court a petition for judicial review of the Board’s June 14 order. The Board sought to dismiss the case, arguing that it timely granted rehearing and thus retained jurisdiction over the dispute, while Mazda argued that the Board did not timely grant rehearing and thus had lost jurisdiction. The trial court granted the Board’s plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.

Mazda and World Car North each appealed from the trial court’s final judgment, which became the related appeal (No. 15-24-00017-CV).

This Court has now resolved that appeal by ruling that the Board timely acted on the motions for rehearing, such that the Board’s June 14 order was not final and appealable, the suit for judicial review is premature, and the trial court correctly dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, this appeal (No. 15-24-00039-CV) arose when Mazda, after filing its notice of appeal, also filed a notice of removal purporting to remove the underlying matter from Travis County district court to the Third Court of Appeals (subsequently transferred to this Court) under a statutory removal provision. World Car North and the Board jointly moved to strike Mazda’s notice of removal as untimely and based on waiver or estoppel. See “Joint Motion…to Strike…Notice of Removal,” No. 15-24-00039-CV (filed Mar. 5, 2024, then in the Third Court in No. 03-24-000144-CV). That motion remains pending. On September 24, 2024, this Court issued an order consolidating the two causes for administrative purposes and staying all deadlines for the administrative record and briefs in this Cause No. 15-24-00039-CV, while the jurisdictional issue was briefed and resolved in related Cause No. 15-24- 00017-CV.

Discussion. As World Car North has previously stated, its interest is preserving its appellate rights and having finally resolved the jurisdictional issue that divides the Board and Mazda. One or both of Mazda and World Car North will likely seek review in the Supreme Court of Texas from this Court’s opinion in the related Cause No. 15-24-00017- CV and possibly also from any ruling by this Court in this Cause No. 15- 24-00039-CV, with World Car North doing so to preserve its appellate rights. In the event the Supreme Court of Texas (or this Court) were to JW | Austin 100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100 • Austin, Texas 78701 | www.jw.com | Member of GLOBALAW™ The Honorable Christopher A. Prine Clerk, Fifteenth Court of Appeals August 5, 2025 Page 3 rule that the Board failed to timely act on the rehearing motions and thus lost jurisdiction over the underlying dispute—as Mazda contends—then World Car North has timely invoked the jurisdiction of the courts and desires to challenge the Board’s June 14 order for violating the Administrative Procedure Act and otherwise committing reversible errors. But if the Board timely acted on the rehearing motions—as this Court held on July 24, 2025 in the related cause—then there never was a final and appealable Board order and the Board retains jurisdiction and can rehear this matter at a future Board meeting. World Car North continues to take no position on that jurisdictional issue, but is pursuing the issue to preserve its appellate rights in all events.

Notably, in this Cause No. 15-24-00039-CV, World Car North and the Board have jointly moved to strike Mazda’s notice of removal that gave rise to this cause, and that motion remains pending. It is unclear what impact Mazda’s notice of removal, and this Court’s resolution of the joint motion to strike, would have on the trial court’s dismissal order or this Court’s opinion in Cause No. 15-24-00017-CV.

For these reasons, World Car North takes no position on the proper disposition of this Cause No. 15-24-00039-CV and is not, and should not be construed as, requesting dismissal of this cause. World Car North disagrees with the Board’s June 14 order and, in the event this Court or the Supreme Court of Texas were to hold in the future that the Board failed to timely act on the agency rehearing motions, such that the Board’s June 14 order became final and appealable, World Car North would pursue and is hereby preserving its appellate rights to challenge the June 14 order in whatever proceeding and judicial forum is appropriate.

JW | Austin 100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100 • Austin, Texas 78701 | www.jw.com | Member of GLOBALAW™ The Honorable Christopher A. Prine Clerk, Fifteenth Court of Appeals August 5, 2025 Page 4 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jeffrey L. Oldham Jeffrey L. Oldham State Bar No. 24051132 [email protected] JACKSON WALKER L.L.P. Congress, Ste. 1100 Austin, Texas 78701 (512) 236-2232 (512) 236-2002 (fax) Jarod R. Stewart State Bar No. 24066147 [email protected] Austin Kreitz State Bar No. 24102044 [email protected] STEPTOE LLP Texas Avenue, Ste. 2800 Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 221-2300 (713) 221-2320 (fax) Counsel for All Star Imports, Inc. d/b/a World Car Mazda North JLO

JW | Austin 100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100 • Austin, Texas 78701 | www.jw.com | Member of GLOBALAW™ The Honorable Christopher A. Prine Clerk, Fifteenth Court of Appeals August 5, 2025 Page 5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on August 5, 2025, a copy of the foregoing was served in accordance with Tex. R. App. P. 9.5 on counsel of record listed below: Brit T. Brown [email protected] Benjamin A. Escobar, Jr. [email protected] AKERMAN LLP 1300 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 2300 Houston, Texas 77056 (713) 623-0887 Jeff Nobles [email protected] JEFF NOBLES LAW PLLC Diamondback Drive Georgetown, Texas 77628 (737) 304-1625 Counsel for Mazda Motor of America, Inc. Ken Paxton, Attorney General Brent Webster Ralph Molina James Lloyd Ernest C. Garcia Kathy Johnson [email protected] OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL P.O. Box 12548, Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711 (512) 475-4164 Counsel for Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles /s/ Jeffrey L. Oldham Jeffrey L. Oldham JW | Austin 100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100 • Austin, Texas 78701 | www.jw.com | Member of GLOBALAW™ 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.

Yvonne Ferrari on behalf of Jeff Oldham Bar No. 24051132 [email protected] Envelope ID: 104013393 Filing Code Description: Other Document Filing Description: NOTICE OF CHANGE OF LAW FIRM AFFILIATION AND ADDRESS Status as of 8/6/2025 7:03 AM CST Case Contacts Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status Jeff Oldham [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Jarod Stewart 24066147 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Austin Kreitz 24102044 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Brit Brown 3094550 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Benjamin Escobar 787440 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Jeffery Nobles 15053050 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT Katherine Johnson 24126964 [email protected] 8/5/2025 5:15:06 PM SENT