Lloyd v. Crosby ISD (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] March 23, 2006)(Edelman) [civil procedure, bill of review, elements, prima facie, meritorious defense, not barred by law] AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Edelman Before Justices Anderson, Edelman and Frost 14-00-01517-CV Claude Hugh Lloyd, Jr. and Cassondra Jean Lloyd v. Crosby Independent School District, Linda Lloyd Peters, Mary Beth Lloyd, Harris County, Harris County Education Department, Port of Houston of Harris County Authority, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Hospital District Et Al Appeal from 157th District Court of Harris County (Hon. Medina)
Houston I.S.D. [HISD] v. 1616 Corp (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Nov. 30, 2006)(Frost) [tax appeal, tax protest, tax suit, exclusive remedy, plea to the jurisdiction, ILA] MOTION OR WRIT GRANTED: Justice Frost Before Chief Justice Hedges, Justices Fowler and Frost 14-04-00859-CV Houston Independant School District, City of Houston and Harris County v. 1615 Corporation, Lance Dreyer and S. R. Dreyer Appeal from 270th District Court of Harris County (Hon. Brent Gamble) ("With exceptions that do not apply to this case, the procedures prescribed by the Tax Code for adjudication of the grounds of protest authorized by that statute (which include complaints regarding an alleged homestead exemption) are exclusive. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. ' 42.09(a). This suit by the Dreyers and 1615 Corporation seeking an equitable bill of review, declaratory judgment, and recoupment of alleged overpayments of property taxes is not part of the procedures prescribed by the Property Tax Code.[7] See id. ' 41.01, et seq. (Vernon 2001). Therefore, section 42.09 bars the claims brought by the Dreyers and 1615 Corporation. See id. ' 42.09; Rourk, 194 S.W.3d at 502. Under the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Rourk, the application of section 42.09 deprives the trial court of jurisdiction, and therefore the trial court erred in denying the Taxing Authorities' plea to the jurisdiction.[8] See Rourk, 194 S.W.3d at 501-2. Accordingly, we sustain the Taxing Authorities' third issue, reverse the trial court's order denying the Taxing Authorities' plea to the jurisdiction, and render judgment dismissing all the claims of the Dreyers and 1615 Corporation for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.")
Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Consolidated ISD v. Texas Political Subdivision, No. 05-0340 (Tex. Dec. 29, 2006)(O’ Neill) [sovereign immunity doctrine, legislative waiver of immunity] ("Because Section 271.152 of the Local Government Code waives the Fund’’s immunity from Ben Bolt’’s claim arising out of the insurance agreement between the parties, we reverse the court of appeals’’ judgment and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.")
American Standard and the Trane Company, et al. v. Brownsville I.S.D., No. 05-0327 (Tex. 2006)(Willet) [arbitration, interlocutory appeal] The Court dismisses the petition for review as moot. (“In this consolidated proceeding, we decide whether the court of appeals had jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal under the Texas Arbitration Act and whether the parties’ arbitration agreements are ambiguous. We hold that the court of appeals had jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal and that the agreements are not ambiguous.”)
Texas Supreme Court Petition for Review filed: Katherine Loeffler v. The Board of Trustees of Lytle I.S.D. (Tex.App.-San Antonio, June 21, 2006, pet. filed, and struck Nov. 17, 2006)
Courts of Appeals Cases
Richardson v. Mercer Inc. (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 7, 2006)(Radack) [bizlaw, tortious interference, DTPA, insurance code violations, HISD contract, benefits] AFFIRM TC JUDGMENT: Opinion by Chief Justice Radack Before Chief Justice Radack, Justices Alcala and Bland 01-04-01000-CV Richardson-Eagle, Inc. v. William M. Mercer Incorporated, William M. Mercer of Texas, Inc., and Rupa Mathur--Appeal from 129th District Court of Harris County
Hebisen v. Clear Creek ISD (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Oct 10, 2006)(Hudson) (tax appeal) AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Hudson 14-04-00983-CV Ronnie Vee Hebisen and Dan Hennigan v. Clear Creek Independent School District, Harris County, Harris County Education Department, Port of Houston of Harris County Authority, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Hospital District and City of Nassau Bay Appeal from 234th District Court of Harris County Concurring Opinion by Justice Frost
Channelview I.S.D. v. ARC I. Ltd (Tex.App.– Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 3, 2006)(Bland) [breach of contract BoC, sovereign immunity, sue and be sued provision in Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 11.151 (a) (Vernon 2006), waiver by conduct, new statutory waiver enacted by legislature] 01-04-00556-CV Channelview Independent School District v. A.R.C.I., Ltd. Appeal from Co Civil Ct at Law No 2 of Harris County (“Following the Texas Supreme Court’s holding in Tooke v. City of Mexia—and the court’s application of it to section 11.151(a) in a companion case—we hold that the “sue and be sued” language in the statute does not waive Channelview’s immunity from suit. Tooke v. City of Mexia, 49 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 819, 2006 WL 1792223 (Tex. June 30, 2006); Satterfield & Pontikes Constr., Inc. v. Irving Indep. Sch. Dist., 49 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 861, 2006 WL 1793473 (Tex. June 30, 2006) (per curiam). We therefore reverse the trial court’s denial of Channelview’s plea to the jurisdiction and remand the cause for further proceedings.”)
Williams v. Corpus Christi I.S.D. (Tex.App.–Corpus Christi 2006)(workers comp, retaliation, decisionmaking authority, absences, negative attitude)
Lloyd v. Crosby ISD (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] March 23, 2006)(Edelman) [civil procedure, bill of review, elements, prima facie, meritorious defense, not barred by law] AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Edelman Before Justices Anderson, Edelman and Frost 14-00-01517-CV Claude Hugh Lloyd, Jr. and Cassondra Jean Lloyd v. Crosby Independent School District, Linda Lloyd Peters, Mary Beth Lloyd, Harris County, Harris County Education Department, Port of Houston of Harris County Authority, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Hospital District Et Al Appeal from 157th District Court of Harris County
Fifth Circuit Decisions
Reassigned Principal's First-Amendment Retaliation Case Fails
Cavazos vs. Edgewood Indep. School Dist. No. 05-51417(5th Cir. Dec. 18, 2006) (first amendment, retaliatory adverse employment action, public employment; plaintiff not speaking as citizen but within scope of official duties, summary judgment for school district affirmed)
Doe v. San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist. (5th Cir. Aug. 17., 2006) (Student left school without permission and suffered harm, school administrator entitled to qualified immunity)