Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Finance, Injunction, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Tax, TOMA

13th Court of Appeals holds City sufficiently complied with TOMA and Tax Code in 2019 when it adopted its annual tax rate

Leftwich v City of Harlingen, 13-20-00110-CV (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi, Sep. 9, 2021). This is a declaratory judgment suit to declare the city violated procedural requirements when it adopted its tax rate in 2019. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals held no
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Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Litigation, Procedure, TOMA

Dallas Court of Appeals holds Plaintiffs failed to challenge all grounds on which dismissal could have been granted; therefore dismissal is affirmed

Chris Carter and Karen Pieroni v. Dallas City Plan Commission and City of Dallas, 05-20-00190-CV, (Tex. App – Dallas, March 1, 2021) This is a Confederate monument case where the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the City’s plea to
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Agency, Board of Adjustment, Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Health and Safety, Injunction, Litigation, Procedure, Sec. 1983, Sovereign Immunity, Structural Standards, Tax, TOMA, Zoning

BOA appeal deadline of 10 days applies to Open Meetings, declaratory judgment, and as-applied constitutional claims, holds Dallas Court of Appeals

Tejas Motel, LLC v City of Mesquite, by and through its Board of Adjustment, 05-19-00667-CV (Tex. Civ. App. – Dallas, June 4, 2020). This is an appeal from a Board of Adjustment decision regarding non-conforming status in which the Dallas Court of
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Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Litigation, Mandamus, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, TOMA, Whistleblower

Texas Supreme Court holds no-evidence MSJ proper to challenge jurisdiction; TOMA waiver of immunity does not include declaratory judgment claims

Town of Shady Shores v Swanson, 18-0413 (Tex. Dec. 13, 2019) This is an employment case, but the focus on the opinion is a procedural one.  Importantly, the Texas Supreme Court held 1) a no-evidence motion for summary judgment was proper to
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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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Agency, Declaratory Judgments, Health and Safety, Injunction, Litigation, Nuisance, Procedure, TOMA

13th Court of Appeals holds building and standards commission order was final, so could not be collaterally attacked under TOMA

Harker Heights Condominiums, LLC v. City of Harker Heights, Texas, 13-17-00234-CV (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi, March 28, 2019). In this case the 13th Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the City of Harker Heights’ plea to the jurisdiction dismissing a
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Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Injunction, TOMA

School District substantially complied with TOMA even though it had a glitch with website postings for five months, says Amarillo Court of Appeals

Rebecca Terrell and Chandrashekhar Thanedar v. Pampa Independent School District, 07-17-00189-CV (Tex. App. – Amarillo, January 9, 2019). This is a Texas Open Meetings Act (“TOMA”) case where the Amarillo Court of Appeals affirmed a take-nothing judgment in favor of the Pampa
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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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Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Sovereign Immunity, TOMA, Whistleblower

TOMA posting inside City Hall with a “cancelled” stamp on an agenda controlled, regardless of other agendas says 13th Court of Appeals

City of Donna, Texas, David Simmons, Jose Garza, Simon Sauceda, Irene Munoz and Sonia Gallegos v. Oscar Ramirez 13-16-00619-CV (Tex.App— Corpus Christi, November 9, 2017) This is a Texas Whistleblower Act case where the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals affirmed the denial
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