Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Injunction, Litigation, Mandamus, PIA, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity

City of Houston can be sued by pension board for non-compliance with statutory pension provision and PIA

  City of Houston, et. al.  v. Houston municipal employees pension system, 17-0242, — S.W. 3d — (Tex. June 8, 2018). City of Houston created several local government corporations to which it transferred some of its employees. Specifically at issue is the
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Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Litigation, Mandamus, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity

Texas Supreme Court holds county commissioner has no authority over plats, so is an improper party to suit by developer

W.A “Andy” Meyers, individually and in his capacity as Fort Bend County Commissioner v. JDC/Firethorne, LTD., a Texas limited partnership; from Fort Bend County; 14th Court of Appeals District (14-15-00860-cv, 514 sw3d 279, 12-22-16) In this land development suit, the Texas Supreme
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Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Land Use, Litigation, Procedure, Religious Freedom, Sec. 1983, TOMA

City immune from claims it misapplied its own ordinances or procedures, but not for TOMA claims

  Peter Schmitz, et al v. Town of Ponder, Texas, et al. 02-16-00114-CV, (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, May 10, 2018). This is a substituted opinion. Summary of original opinion found here. This is an appeal from a final judgment against the
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Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Land Use, Litigation, Procedure, Vested Rigths

Trial court abused its discretion in awarding attorney’s fees to City in vested rights and declaratory judgment case

Patsy B. Anderton, et al. v. City of Cedar Hill, 05-17-00138-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas, May 25, 2018) The Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed-in-part and reversed-in-part a judgment for the City of Cedar Hill (“City”) in a case involving a non-conforming use
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Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

Texas Supreme Court holds TTCA caps are cumulative, inclusive of independent contractors and their employees performing governmental functions

  Fort Worth Transportation Authority, et al., v Rodriquez, et al., 16-0542 (Tex. April 27, 2018) This is a statutory-construction case on the damages-cap and election-of-remedies under the Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”). After Peterson, a pedestrian, was struck and killed by
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Employment Law, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Whistleblower

Plaintiff’s pro se brief insufficient to preserve arguments on appeal holds Dallas Court of Appeals

Gilberto Hernandez v. Dallas Independent School District, 05-17-00227-CV (Tex. App. – Dallas, April 18, 2018). This is a Texas Whistleblower Act case where the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the Plaintiff’s claims. The Dallas Independent School District (“DISD”) employed
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Discrimination, Employment Law, Procedure, Retaliation

Texas Supreme Court holds standards in same-sex discrimination cases are distinctly different than opposite-sex standards

Alamo Heights Independent School District v Catherine Clark, 16-0244, — S.W.3rd – (Tex. April 6, 2018). This is a workplace same-sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation case where the Texas Supreme Court held that while the actions complained of were vulgar, they were
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Litigation, Official/Qualified Immunity, Procedure, TTCA

San Antonio Court of Appeals holds City made a judicial admission employee was acting within course and scope of employment at time of accident by filing §101.106(e) motion to dismiss. Therefore, not entitled to jury question on course and scope

Victor Ramos v. City of Laredo, 04-17-00099-CV (Tex. App. – San Antonio, March 28, 2018). This is a Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) case where the San Antonio Court of Appeals reversed a jury verdict and rendered judgment against the City. While
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