Agency, Board of Adjustment, Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Litigation, Procedure, Zoning

Lubbock Court of Appeals affirmed board of adjustment condition to re-evaluate variance request after a set number of years

MVP Raider Park Garage, LLC. V Zoning Board of Adjustment of City of Lubbock, et al, 07-20-00261-CV (Tex. App. – Lubbock, Jan. 12, 2022) This is a board of adjustment case where the Lubbock Court of Appeals affirmed the BOA’s denial of a variance request. Raider Park owns a parking garage that provides student parking […]

ADA, Discrimination, Employment Law, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity

A defendant attempting to obtain dismissal for lack of evidence must use a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, not a no-evidence plea to the jurisdiction.

A defendant attempting to obtain dismissal for lack of evidence must use a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, not a no-evidence plea to the jurisdiction. Special contributing author Laura Mueller, City Attorney for Dripping Springs Edinburg Consol. Ind. Sch. Dist. V. Ayala, No. 13-20-00590-CV (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi Dec. 9, 2021) (mem. op.). In this appeal […]

Litigation, Mandamus

13th Court of Appeals grants mandamus relief to TxDOT – allowed TxDOT to withhold from discovery skid mark and other highway safety statistics

In re Texas Department of Transportation, 13-21-00214-CV  (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi, Dec. 9, 2021) In this mandamus action, the 13th Court of Appeals conditionally granted the writ, noting federal law made certain information regarding highway safety data privileged and exempt from discovery. The Simpson plaintiffs filed suit against TxDOT for survival and wrongful death […]

Board of Adjustment, Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, Takings, Vested Rigths, Zoning

Fort Worth Court of Appeals holds Plaintiffs properly plead constitutional challenges to City’s short-term rental ordinance

  City of Grapevine v. Ludmilla B. Muns, et al, 02-19-00257-CV (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, Dec. 23, 2021) This is an opinion on rehearing where the Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed in part and affirmed in part the trial court’s order regarding the validity of the City’s short-term rental ordinance. [Comment: warning, this […]

Declaratory Judgments, Eminent Domain, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Takings

Fort Worth Court of Appeals holds one city was not entitled to a plea to the jurisdiction in condemnation suit brought by adjoining city

Town of Westlake, Texas v. City of Southlake, 02-21-00241-CV  (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, Dec. 23, 2021) This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of the Town of Westlake’s plea to the jurisdiction in a case where the City of Southlake filed condemnation proceedings against the Town of Westlake.  The Fort Worth court of […]

Declaratory Judgments, Health and Safety, Injunction, Land Use, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Structural Standards, Takings, Zoning

Texarkana holds city properly supported its summary judgment to permanently enjoin mobile home park

Polecat Hill, LLC, et al. v. City of Longview, Texas, et al. 06-20-00062-CV (Tex. App. – Texarkana, December 2, 2021). This is a nuisance/permit case brought under Chapter 54 of the Texas Local Government Code where the Texarkana Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment entered on behalf of the City.  [Comment: this is a long, […]

Contracts

Contract limiting remedies to replace or replacement by the vendor preclude damages for repair or replacement by a third party for failed product.   

Special contributing author Laura Mueller, City Attorney for Dripping Springs New Braunfels I.S.D. v. FieldTurf USA Inc., No. 07-20-00308-CV (Tex. App.—Amarillo Nov. 12, 2021) (mem. op.). In this appeal from a trial court’s judgment in favor of the school district on its breach of contract claim but against the district on its fraud and attorney’s […]

Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

Dallas Court of Appeals holds detour did not take excavation outside the normal use of the roadway, therefore plaintiff properly alleged a special defect

City of Irving, Texas v. Edwin Muniz, 05-21-00099-CV, (Tex. App – Dallas, Nov. 19, 2021) This is a premise defect/Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) case where the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction. During a rainstorm at night, Muniz entered an intersection undergoing construction for sewer pipe […]

Contracts, Declaratory Judgments, Injunction, Land Use, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity

Dallas Court of Appeals holds commercial lease on property separated from airport was a proprietary function

City of Dallas v. Oxley Leasing North Loop, LLC, 05-21-00241-CV, (Tex. App – Dallas, Nov. 12, 2021) This is a breach of a lease agreement case where the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction, holding the City was performing a proprietary function. The City created a Land […]

Constitutional Challenge, Litigation, Sec. 1983

U.S. 5th Circuit remands inmate’s sec. 1983 claims to evaluate whether prison disciplinary decision overlaps with excessive force claims

Gray v. White, 20-30218, (US 5th Cir – Nov. 17, 2021) This is a §1983/excessive force case where the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the trial court’s granting of the county’s summary judgment motion. Timothy Gray is an inmate at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. Grey asserts […]