In Re Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc.; Silver Star CRE, LLC; Silver Star CRE II, LLC; And Silver Star Delray, LLC v. the State of Texas

ACCEPTED
15-25-00136-CV
FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
8/18/2025 12:00 AM
No. 15-25-00136-CV CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
CLERK
FILED IN
________________________________ 15th COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
8/18/2025 12:00:00 AM
In the Court of Appeals for the CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE
Clerk
Fifteenth Judicial District
________________________________

In re: Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc., et al., Relators

Original Proceeding from the Texas Business Court,
Eighth Division, Fort Worth, Texas, Cause No. 25-BC08B-0016
Hon. Brian Stagner, Judge Presiding

RELATORS’ REPLY IN SUPPORT OF
MOTION FOR EMERGENCY STAY

Relators file this Reply in support of their Motion for Emergency Stay of the

proceedings below.

First, a court without subject-matter jurisdiction can only issue void orders or

judgments. See, e.g., In re Panchakarla, 602 S.W.3d 536, 539 (Tex.2020) (orig.

proceeding) (“If a trial court issues an order beyond its jurisdiction…such an order

is void ab initio”). Thus, regardless of whether the Temporary Injunction hearing

scheduled for August 20, 2025, would otherwise go forward, the stay Relators

request is still necessary to prevent the Eighth Division from taking other action that

may potentially result in void orders or judgments. That gives this Court a less rushed

timeline to determine a question extremely important to the jurisprudence of this
State in an area of new and rapidly-expanding law – whether the Eighth Division

actually has jurisdiction – and provide proper guidance to this and other Texas

Business Courts likely to face this situation in the future. Relators disclosed the

Temporary Injunction hearing as the next event likely to occur in the Eighth

Division, so the Court would know it did not have to decide the Motion for Stay the

same day it was filed – a decision on Monday or Tuesday would give the parties

time to stand down if needed.

Second, Relators did not see the need initially to drag this Court “down in the

weeds” of the injunctive relief itself, since Relators are not asking the Court to rule

on those merits. However, the Opposition of the Real Parties in Interest grossly omits

key facts that have occurred since the August 4, 2025, TRO was entered. The result

is a distortion the Opposition then uses to impugn Relators’ (and their counsel’s)

integrity, and so Relators will address them briefly here.

As demonstrated by the Declaration of Walter L. Taylor, 1 lead counsel for

Relators, the 48th Judicial District Court of Tarrant County signed and entered the

August 4, 2025, Temporary Restraining Order at 4:35 p.m. Appendix 4. The TRO

expressly requires all funds “currently” in three specifically designated accounts,

plus any rent collections received in such accounts thereafter, to be released to the

1
Exhibit 1 to this Reply.
2
Silver Star Relators to pay operational expenses (up to a cap of $1.5 million). At or

near the time Judge Taylor signed the TRO, Silver Star’s Chief Financial Officer –

Lou T. Fox, III, reviewed all three accounts and determined that at the time the TRO

was signed the accounts held roughly $740,000. Approximately $129,000 in rent

collections reached the account over the next two days.

On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, Relators learned roughly $507,000 had

disappeared from their accounts – to which only they and the Real Parties in Interest

had access. In an afternoon Microsoft Teams call Wednesday, August 6, 2025, the

purpose of which to discuss the mechanism for releasing funds under the TRO, Mr.

Lee Hart of Nelson Mullens (at the time merely a partner of lead counsel Jacob

Sparks, now admitted pro hac vice in the Eighth Division) expressly denied orally

that the Real Parties in Interest had made any such withdrawal. The following day,

however, he admitted in an E-mail the withdrawal had occurred and promised the

Real Parties in Interest would return the funds by August 7, 2025 (they didn’t). See

Exhibit 2. Accordingly, Relators made a disbursement request of $869,000 under the

TRO. Exhibit 3.

On August 7, 2025, Mr. Hart revealed that not only had Real Parties in Interest

removed the $507,000, they had actually paid it to third parties, and it would now

“take a couple of days” to get it back. Although roughly $407,000 of the $869,000

did hit Silver Star’s account on August 7, 2025, the balance was not received until
3
August 11, 2025 – a week after the TRO covering funds “currently” in the account

was signed. In short, Relators’ initial prioritization was based on the good faith belief

they would have $869,000 in rent collections for urgent operational expenses.

Relators understandably waited to make sure the Real Parties were actually going to

return the roughly $507,000 taken after the TRO was signed, to ensure Relators

would not have to re-prioritize a smaller amount. The TRO requires Relators to

report payments made for operational expenses within five (5) days, so the

remainder of expenses were accounted for today. Exhibit 4. 2

Finally, with respect to the issue of conferring, when the undersigned notified

Real Parties’ lead counsel of the filing of the Petition for Writ of Mandamus

yesterday and that an emergency motion for stay was coming, he received neither a

reply nor a bounce-back E-mail indicating Mr. Sparks was out of the office. When

the undersigned replied this morning in the same thread, he left the E-mail thread

open so that if Mr. Sparks replied he would see it immediately. Seeing no reply, the

undersigned filed the Emergency Motion this morning. Unfortunately, after filing

the Emergency Motion and closing the E-mail thread, the undersigned did see after

the fact that a bounce back had been received – just not in the same E-mail thread.

2
In his Declaration, Mr. Taylor makes clear he does not impugn the personal integrity of Mr. Brent
Buyse, who signed the Affidavit in support of the Real Parties’ Opposition that omits these key
facts. To the best of Mr. Taylor’s recollection, Mr. Buyse was not present in the meetings described
above, nor does he appear to have been copied on the E-mails attached.
4
Even so, the point is moot because Relators had notice under TRAP 52(10) the

motion was coming, and they were able to file an Opposition twenty-four (24) hours

later, to which the Court has access before deciding the issue. Thus, the conference

on whether they were agreed or opposed is moot. Relators request the stay pending

this Court’s ruling on jurisdiction.

Respectfully submitted,

Walter L. Taylor
State Bar No. 19727030
taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com
TAYLOR LAW FIRM
6630 Colleyville Blvd, Suite 200
Colleyville, Texas 76034
Tel: (817) 770-4343
Tel: (512) 474-6600
Fax: (512) 474-6700
ATTORNEY FOR RELATORS

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify by my signature above that a true and correct copy of the
foregoing document has this day been served via certified mail, return receipt
requested, electronic service, facsimile or hand delivery in open court, upon the Real
Parties in Interest and Respondent on this 16th day of August, 2025:
Jacob Sparks
Email: Jacob.Sparks@NelsonMullins.com
Brent T. Buyse
Email: Brent.Buyse@NelsonMullins.com
Xenna Davis
Email: Xenna.Davis@NelsonMullins.com
NELSON MULLINS RILEY &SCARBOROUGH, LLP

5
Hon. Brian Stagner
Judge Presiding
Texas Business Court
Eighth Division
1515 Commerce Street, Ste. 170
Fort Worth, TX 76102
BCDivision8B@txcourts.gov

6
EXHIBIT 1

No. 15-25-00136-CV
________________________________

In the Court of Appeals for the
Fifteenth Judicial District
________________________________

In re: Silver Star Properties REIT, Inc., et al., Relators

Original Proceeding from the Texas Business Court,
Eighth Division, Fort Worth, Texas, Cause No. 25-BC08B-0016
Hon. Brian Stagner, Judge Presiding

DECLARATION OF WALTER L. TAYLOR

“My name is Walter L. Taylor, my date of birth is June 9, 1964. I am over the
age of 18 years and am fully competent to make this declaration. My law firm’s
address is 6630 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 200, Colleyville, Texas 76034, USA. I am an
attorney at Taylor Law Firm. I serve as counsel for Relators Silver Star Properties
REIT, Inc., Silver Star CRE, LLC, Silver Star CRE II, LLC, and Silver Star Delray,
LLC, in the above-captioned case. I declare under the penalty of perjury that the
following is true and correct.

As shown in Appendix 4 to the Petition for Writ of Mandamus, the 48th
Judicial District Court of Tarrant County signed and entered the August 4, 2025,
Temporary Restraining Order at 4:35 p.m. Appendix 4. The TRO expressly requires
all funds “currently” in three specifically designated accounts, plus any rent
collections received in such accounts thereafter, to be released to the Silver Star
Relators to pay operational expenses (up to a cap of $1.5 million). At or near the
time Judge Taylor signed the TRO, Silver Star’s Chief Financial Officer – Lou T.
Fox, III, reviewed all three accounts and determined that at the time the TRO was
signed the accounts held roughly $740,000. Approximately $129,000 in rent
collections reached the account over the next two days.

On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, however, Relators learned roughly $507,000
had disappeared from their accounts – to which, upon information and belief, only
they and the Real Parties in Interest had access. Wednesday afternoon, August 6,
2025, in a Microsoft Teams video call to discuss the mechanism for releasing funds

Declaration of Walter L. Taylor, p. 1
under the TRO, I asked counsel for the Real Parties in Interest to explain the
withdrawal. Mr. Lee Hart of Nelson Mullens (a partner of lead counsel Jacob Sparks,
now admitted pro hac vice in the Eighth Division) initially denied that the Real
Parties in Interest had made any such withdrawal. The following day, however, Mr.
Hart admitted in an E-mail the withdrawal had occurred and promised that the Real
Parties in Interest would return the funds by August 7, 2025. See Exhibit 2.
Accordingly, Relators made a disbursement request of $869,000 under the TRO.

On August 7, 2025, Mr. Hart revealed that not only had Real Parties in Interest
removed the $507,000, they had actually paid it to third parties, and it would now
“take a couple of days” to get it back. Although roughly $407,000 of the $869,000
was returned account on August 7, 2025, the balance was not received until August
11, 2025 – a week after the TRO covering funds “currently” in the account was
signed. Without my having to reveal privileged information, it should be clear from
these facts that Relators’ initial prioritization of operational expenses was based on
their good faith belief they would have $869,000 in rent collections for urgent
operational expenses. Finding themselves roughly $507,000 short, it would certainly
be understandable if Relators waited to make sure the Real Parties in Interest were
actually going to return the approximately $507,000 taken by the Real Parties in
Interest, to ensure Relators would not have to re-prioritize a smaller amount. The
TRO requires Relators to report payments made for operational expenses within five
(5) days, so the remainder of expenses were accounted for today. Exhibit 3. 1 This
report was sent shortly after Real Parties in Interest filed their Opposition claiming
bad faith on the part of Relators.

With respect to the issue of conferring on the Motion for Emergency Stay,
when I notified Real Parties’ lead counsel of the filing of the Petition for Writ of
Mandamus yesterday and that an emergency motion for stay was coming, I received
neither a reply nor a bounce-back E-mail indicating Mr. Sparks was out of the office.
When I inquired about opposition this morning in the same E-mail thread, I left the
E-mail thread open so that if Mr. Sparks replied I would see it immediately. Seeing
no reply, I filed the Emergency Motion this morning. Unfortunately, after filing the
Emergency Motion and closing the E-mail thread, I did see after the fact that a
bounce back had been received – just not in the same E-mail thread I’d kept open.

Walter L. Taylor /s/ Walter L. Taylor

1
I want to make clear it is not my intention to impugn the personal integrity of Mr. Brent Buyse,
who signed the Affidavit in support of the Real Parties’ Opposition omitting these key facts. My
recollection is that Mr. Buyse was not present in the meetings described above, nor does he appear
to have been copied on any of the E-mails attached.
2
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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.

Walter Taylor on behalf of Walter Taylor
Bar No. 19727030
taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com
Envelope ID: 104466128
Filing Code Description: Other Document
Filing Description: 2025.08.16 Reply in Support of Motion for Emergency
Stay
Status as of 8/18/2025 7:15 AM CST

Case Contacts

Name BarNumber Email TimestampSubmitted Status

Walter Taylor taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Walter Taylor taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Walter Taylor taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Walter Taylor taylorlawfirmdfw@gmail.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Jacob Sparks Jacob.Sparks@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Jacob Sparks Jacob.Sparks@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Jacob Sparks Jacob.Sparks@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Brent Buyse Brent.Buyse@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Brent Buyse Brent.Buyse@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Brent Buyse Brent.Buyse@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Xenna Davis Xenna.Davis@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Xenna Davis Xenna.Davis@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Xenna Davis Xenna.Davis@NelsonMullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Brian Stagner BCDivision8B@txcourts.gov 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Jessica Cannon jessica.cannon@nelsonmullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT

Mary Versfelt mary.versfelt@nelsonmullins.com 8/16/2025 7:47:30 AM SENT