Annexation, Constitutional Challenge, Contracts, Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Ultra Vires, Zoning

City’s jurisdictional plea denied in case asserting City’s development agreement equates to contract zoning

City of Shavano Park v. Ard Mor, Inc., et al, 04-14-00781-CV (Tex. App. – San Antonio, July 29, 2015) This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction involving a challenge to an adjacent development agreement and
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Declaratory Judgments, Elections, Mandamus

Texas Supreme Court holds once City Secretary certified referendum petition, City Council had ministerial duty to repeal or submit on election ballot regardless of forgery allegations

In Re Jared Woodfill et al, 14-0667 (Tex. July 24, 2015) This is a mandamus action to compel a referendum to repeal the City of Houston’s “equal rights ordinances” be placed on the November ballot. This dispute concerns the duties of the
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Annexation, Declaratory Judgments, Sovereign Immunity, Ultra Vires

Interpretation of ordinance involving boundaries between two cities is not a “political question” but a matter of statutory construction says Texas Supreme Court

City of Ingleside v City of Corpus Christi, 14-0548 (Tex. July 24, 2015) This declaratory-judgment action involves a boundary dispute between the City of Ingleside and the City of Corpus Christi over the scope of an ordinance establishing the adjacent bay waters’
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Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Retaliation

Plaintiff was aware of facts which would have led a reasonable person to inquire as to why she was not hired but waited until TWC deadline passed; court properly granted plea to the jurisdiction

Sheryl Taylor v. State of Texas and Texas Department of Criminal Justice 11-13-00207-CV (Tex. App. –Eastland, July 24, 2015) This is a retaliation case brought under the Texas Labor Code in which the Eastland Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the
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Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, Ultra Vires, Zoning

Association has standing to challenge validity of zoning change ordinance; Declaratory judgment actions do not intertwine jurisdiction with merits says Dallas Court of Appeals

  City Of Dallas and Larry Holmes, in his Official Capacity as Chief Building Official for the City of Dallas v. East Village Association, 05-14-01406-CV (Tex. App. –Dallas July 21, 2015. This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea
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Agency, Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, Ultra Vires

Texas Supreme Court creates new standard holding governmental regulations must be more than rationally related to governmental interest under Article I, § 19 of the Texas Constitution

ASHISH PATEL, et al  v. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION, et al, 12-0657 (Tex. June 26, 2015) In this regulation case, the Texas Supreme Court held the Texas regulation for licensing of eyebrow threaders (the “Threaders”) is not rationally related to
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Agency, Contracts, Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Sovereign Immunity

Tax abatement agreement does not waive immunity under Chapter 271 of Local Government Code, but filing counterclaim did says Beaumont Court of Appeals

The City of Conroe, et al v. TPProperty LLC 09-13-00509-CV (Tex. App. – Beaumont, June 25, 2015). This is a breach of contract case involving a type of HOT agreement and tax abatement in which the Beaumont Court of Appeals modified the
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Constitutional Challenge, Contracts, Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Sovereign Immunity, Vested Rigths

Payday loan company has no jurisdiction to challenge City ordinance regulating payday loans says Fort Worth Court of Appeals

ACE Cash Express, Inc. v. The City of Denton, Texas 02-14-00146-CV (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, June 4, 2015). This is a case involving a company’s attempt to invalidate a city ordinance regulating credit access businesses in which the Fort Worth Court
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Declaratory Judgments, Health and Safety, Litigation, Nuisance, Preemption, Procedure

City can sue for damages to property values due to nuisance for acts occurring outside ETJ says Amarillo Court of Appeals.

  Town of DISH, et al v. Enbridge Gathering (North Texas) L.P., et al.,  07-13-00391-CV (Tex. App. – Amarillo, June 1, 2015) This is a consolidation of three separate cases with multiple parties and multiple defendants with certain procedural complexities. For the
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