No. 03-14-00036-CV

____________________________________________________ 

IN THE THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

______________________________________________________________

RICHARD J. MALOUF DDS, RICHARD J. MALOUF DDS, PC, and RICHARD 

J. MALOUF DDS, PA,

Appellants

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS EX REL, DR. CHRISTINE ELLIS, D.D.S. and 

MADELAYNE CASTILLO

Appellees

_____________________________________________________________

APPELLANTS’ ORAL ARGUMENT HANDOUTS

_____________________________________________________________

ELIZABETH G. BLOCH

State Bar No. 02495500

Heidi.bloch@huschblackwell.com

THOMAS H. WATKINS

State Bar No. 20928000

Tom.watkins@huschblackwell.com

LORINDA HOLLOWAY

State Bar No. 00798264

Lorinda.holloway@huschblackwell.com

Husch Blackwell LLP

111 Congress, Suite 1400

Austin, Texas 78701

(512) 472-5456

(512) 479-1101 (fax)

Attorneys for Appellants Richard J. 

Malouf DDS and Richard J. Malouf 

DDS, PC

J.A. CANALES

State Bar No. 03737000

TonyCanales@canalessimonson.com

Canales & Simonson, PC

2601 Morgan Ave.

Corpus Christi, Texas 78465

(361) 883-0601

(361) 884-7023 (fax)

Attorneys for Appellant Richard J. 

Malouf DDS, PA

ACCEPTED

03-14-00036-CV

3763886

THIRD COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

1/14/2015 11:45:58 AM

JEFFREY D. KYLE

CLERK

 FILED IN 3rd COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS 1/14/2015 11:45:58 AM JEFFREY D. KYLE Clerk
“Health care liability claim:”

“a cause of action against a health care provider or 

physician for treatment, lack of treatment, or other 

claimed departure from accepted standards of

medical care, or health care, or safety or 

professional or administrative services directly 

related to health care, which proximately results in 

injury to or death of a claimant, whether the 

claimant’s claim or cause of action sounds in tort or 

contract.” TMLA § 74.001(a)(13) (amended 2003)

“Professional or administrative services:”

“those duties or services that a physician or health 

care provider is required to provide as a condition 

of maintaining the physician’s or health care 

provider’s license, accreditation status, or 

certification to participate in state or federal health 

care programs.” TMLA § 74.001(a)(24) (added 2003)

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AUS-6050316-1 6060880/4
TMLA § 74.001(a)(2):

“’Claimant’ means a person, including a decedent’s 

estate, seeking or who has sought recovery of damages 

in a health care liability claim.”

Tex. Gov’t Code § 311.005:

The following definitions apply unless the statute or 

context in which the word or phrase is used requires a 

different definition:

(2) "Person" includes corporation, organization, 

government or governmental subdivision or agency, 

business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and 

any other legal entity.

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 1.002:

The Code Construction Act (Chapter 311, Government 

Code) applies to the construction of each provision in this 

code, except as otherwise expressly provided by this

code.

Tex. Gov’t Code § 311.034:

In a statute, the use of “person,” as defined by Section 

311.005 to include governmental entities, does not 

indicate legislative intent to waive sovereign immunity ....

[Codifies common law: “person” includes the 

State unless sovereign immunity is implicated]

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Rules of statutory construction:

• Courts must begin with the “plain and common 

meaning of the statute’s words.” Tex. W. Oaks Hosp. LP 

v. Williams, 371 S.W.3d 171, 177 (Tex. 2012).

• “Where text is clear, text is determinative.” Entergy 

Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers, 282 S.W.3d 433, 437 (Tex. 

2009).

• “We cannot add words into, or delete language from, a 

statutory provision unless doing so is ‘necessary to give 

effect to clear legislative intent,’ because ‘[o]nly truly 

extraordinary circumstances showing unmistakable 

legislative intent should divert us from enforcing the 

statute as written.’ Tex. Adjutant Gen.’s Office v. 

Ngakoue, 408 S.W.3d 350, 362 (Tex. 2013).

• “Even when it appears the Legislature may have made a 

mistake, courts are not empowered to ‘fix’ the mistake 

by disregarding direct and clear statutory language that 

does not create an absurdity.” Texas Lottery 

Commission v. First State Bank of DeQueen, 325 S.W.3d 

628, 638 (Tex. 2010).

• Courts “are not responsible for omissions in 

legislation.” Diversicare Gen. Partner, Inc. v. Rubio, 185 

S.W.3d 842, 860 (Tex. 2005).

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing instrument has been 

served upon the following counsel of record via hand delivery and/or the Court’s 

electronic filing system on the 14th day of January, 2015:

Raymond C. Winter

Margaret Moore

Reynolds Brissenden

David Drew Wright

Damon T. Ong

Douglas D. Geyser

Civil Medicaid Fraud Division

Assistant Attorneys General

P.O. Box 12548

Austin, Texas 78711-2548

Attorneys for the State of Texas 

Dan Hargrove

Waters & Kraus, LLP

600 Navarro, Suite 500

San Antonio, Texas 78205

Attorneys for Plaintiff Dr. Christine Ellis, D.D.S.

J. Michael Tibbals

Snell Wylie & Tibbals

8150 North Central Expressway, Suite 1800

Dallas, Texas 75206

Counsel for Relator, Madelayne Castillo

C. Gregory Shamoun

Shamoun & Norman, LLP

1755 Wittington Place, Suite 200, LB 25

Dallas, Texas 75234

Attorneys for 2009 Straight Family Lane Family, LP,

Camelia Family Limited Partnership, RMAL Holdings, LLC,

M5 Holdings, LLC, and Hypermart Holdings, LP, LLC

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Joseph A. Friedman

Kevin P. Perkins

Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC

1601 Elm Street, Suite 3700

Dallas, Texas 75201

Counsel for AS Property Holdings, LLC and

All Smiles Dental Center, Inc.

Robert M. Anderton

Mark Hanna

Law Offices of Hanna & Anderton

900 Congress Avenue, Suite 250

Austin, Texas 78701

Counsel for Haltom City Smiles, PLLC, Jacksboro Smiles, PLLC, Fort Worth 

Smiles by Wire, PLLC, Garland Road Smiles, PLLC, Garland Road Smiles by 

Wire, PLLC, Jacksboro Smiles by Wire, PLLC, Lewisville Smiles, PLLC, All Smiles 

Dental Professionals, P.C., Park Plaza Smiles, PLLC, S. Hampton Smiles, PLLC, 

Haltom City Smiles, PLLC, Jacksboro Smiles, PLLC, Fort Worth Smiles by Wire, 

PLLC, Garland Road Smiles, PLLC, Jacksboro Smiles by Wire, PLLC, Lewisville 

Smiles, PLLC, Northwest Highway Smiles, PLLC, Plano Minyards Smiles, PLLC, 

St. Francis Smiles, PLLC, Valleyview Smiles, PLLC, Garland Road Smiles by 

Wire, PLLC

Jay Madrid

Winstead

1201 Elm Street, Suite 5400

Dallas, Texas 75270

Counsel for ASDC Holdings, LLC

J. A. Canales

2601 Morgan Avenue

P. O. Box 5624

Corpus Christi, Texas 78465-5624

Counsel for Richard J. Malouf, D.D.S., P.A.

/s/ Elizabeth G. Bloch

Elizabeth G. Bloch

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