Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Elections, Litigation, Public Works, Tax, Ultra Vires

Taxpayer lacked standing to challenge Houston drainage fee ordinance despite charter election invalidity

Elizabeth C. Perez v. Sylvester Turner, et al., 01-16-00985-CV (Tex. App. – Hous. [1st Dist], Oct. 15, 2019) This is a long standing/multi-opinion dispute challenging the City of Houston’s drainage fee ordinance. Prior summaries found here and here. In this substituted opinion
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Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Discrimination, Employment Law, Injunction, Litigation, Procedure, Retaliation, Sovereign Immunity

Firefighter’s claims against City dismissed since no adverse employment actions occurred; only minor internal decisions

Billy Fratus v. The City of Beaumont, 09-18-00294-CV (Tex. App. – Beaumont, Oct. 10, 2019). This is an employment discrimination/retaliation/firefighter case where the Beaumont Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction. Fratus was a firefighter who
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Agency, Civil Service/Collective Bargaining, Constitutional Challenge, Contracts, Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Injunction, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, TOMA

Beaumont Court of Appeals holds firefighter’s last-chance agreement in collective bargaining city deprived trial court of jurisdiction to hear appeal of indefinite suspension

  Michael Scott Nix v. City of Beaumont, 09-18-00407-CV (Tex. App. -Beaumont – Oct. 3, 2019)\ This is an interlocutory appeal in a firefighter suspension case where the Beaumont Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction.
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Constitutional Challenge, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Takings

12th Court of Appeals holds a regulatory civil enforcement suit did not constitute a taking by a conservation district

Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District v. Mountain Pure TX, LLC  12-19-00172-CV (Tex. App. – Tyler, September 18, 2019). This is a regulatory takings/compliance enforcement case where the Tyler Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a conservation district’s plea to
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Injunction, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity

Since interlocutory appeal by individual officials stayed proceedings, trial court had no authority to grant or deny City’s plea to the jurisdiction

City of Brownsville, et al.,  v. Brownsville GMS, 13-19-00467-CV (Tex.App. – Corpus Christi, September 27, 2019). This is a governmental immunity/contract case where a temporary injunction was sought.  The Corpus Christi court out of Edinburg held the trial court’s failure to rule
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Contracts, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity

City immune for claims of “general engineering work” since the contract was expressly for a specific project with no generalized work included

Naismith Engineering, Inc. v. The City of Aransas Pass, 13-18-00402-CV (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi, September 19, 2019) This is a governmental immunity/contract case where the Corpus Christi court out of Edinburg affirmed the granting of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction.
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