Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Eminent Domain, Litigation, Procedure, Takings

Fort Worth Court of Appeals upholds jury award for partial taking and partial implied dedication in inverse-condemnation case

City of Justin, Texas v. Rimrock Enterprises, Inc., 02-13-00461-CV (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, April 2, 2015) This is an inverse-condemnation suit where the Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part an award for the property owner. This is a 35 page opinion, which makes this summary a little longer. […]

Eminent Domain, Litigation, Takings

Property owner’s expert established condemned property not subject to project-enhancement preclusion and was separate economic unit

Texas Department of Public Safety v. Joseph Trent Jones, 01-13-00953-CV (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.] April 2, 2015) This is an eminent-domain case which goes into detail about the proper way to evaluate property value based on project-enhancement, highest and best use, and separate economic unit standards.  The case comes to the court based […]

Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Litigation, Vested Rigths, Zoning

Because developer did not ascertain reason for City’s plat denial, no justiciable controversy exists

The Village of Tiki Island v. Premier Tierra Holdings, Inc., 14-14-00629-CV (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.], March 24, 2015) The Plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment action to determine vested development rights under Chapter 245 of the Texas Local Government Code. This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction […]

Agency, Declaratory Judgments, Finance, Litigation, Procedure, Public Works

Expedited public securities law cannot be used to challenge TCEQ permit says Third Court of Appeals

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority v. Texas Attorney General, et al, 03-14-00393-CV (Tex. App. Austin, February 26, 2015) The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (“Authority”) filed a suit against numerous entities asserting the San Antonio Water System (“SAWS”) improperly filed an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (the “Commission”) that would significantly diminish the amount of water […]