RECENT DECISIONS FROM HOUSTON COURTS OF APPEALS Expo Motorcars, LLC v. HCAD (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] Jul. 23, 2009)(Jennings) (tax protests suit, constitutionality of appraisal formula, due process, motor vehicle inventory value) AFFIRM TC JUDGMENT: Opinion by Justice Jennings Before Justices Jennings, Keyes and Higley 01-08-00473-CV Expo Motorcars, LLC. v. Harris County Appraisal District, Harris County Appraisal Review Board Appeal from 270th District Court of Harris County Solomon-Williams v. Desai (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Jun. 25, 2009)(Opinion by Bland) (med mal suit, failure to timely file expert report, constitution challenges, due process, open courts) AFFIRM TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT: Opinion by Justice Jane N. Bland Panel members: Justices Keyes, Hanks and Bland 01-08-00733-CV Donna Solomon-Williams v. Shetal Nicholas Desai, Individually, and d/b/a Foot Centers of America, Foot Centers of Texas, PLLC, and The Methodist Hospital Appeal from 268th District Court of Fort Bend County In Interest of SN, SMN, DAN (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Oct 14, 2008)(Yates) (termination, constitutionality TFC § 263.405, statement of points for appeal 15 day deadline) AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Brock Yates Before Justices Brock Yates, Anderson and Brown 14-07-00161-CV In the Interest of S.N., S.M.N., D.A.N., Children Appeal from 314th District Court of Harris County DFPS v. Dickensheets (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Sep. 11, 2008)(Keyes) (CPS child protection SAPCR suit, constitutional challenge to deadline, separations of powers doctrine) AFFIRM TC JUDGMENT: Opinion by Justice Keyes Before Chief Justice Radack, Justices Keyes and Higley 01-07-00584-CV Department of Family and Protective Services v. Travis Reid Dickensheets, et al Appeal from 300th District Court of Brazoria County Trial Court Judge: Hon. K. Randal Hufstetler City of Santa Fe, Texas v. Boudreaux (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] May 29, 2008)(Guzman) (labor and employment law, public employment, provision of collective bargaining voided as unconstitutional private delegation of legislative power) REVERSED AND RENDERED: Opinion by Justice Guzman Before Justices Brock Yates, Guzman and Brown 14-06-00299-CV City of Santa Fe, Texas v. Victor Boudreaux and Jeremy Creech Appeal from 56th District Court of Galveston County Trial Court Judge: Lonnie Cox Wilson-Everett v. Christus St. Joseph (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 29, 2007)(Edelman) (HCLC, expert report, constitutional challenge) AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Edelman Before Justices Fowler, Edelman and Frost 14-05-00999-CV Mercedes Wilson-Everett, Individually and as Respresentative of the Estate of Ruby J. Wilson, deceased v. Christus St. Joseph, Jeff Webster, Edith Irby Jones, LaKisha Hose, Mariamme Kurian, Laura Fortin, Sophie Meyers, Nedra Thomas and Laura Flint Appeal from Probate Court No 1 of Harris County Frost concurred in Wilson-Everett v. Christus St. Joseph (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 29, 2007)(Concurring Opinion by Justice Frost) Justice Alcala orders Judge Susan Criss, a district court judge and supreme court candidate, to vacate order barring jury members from speaking to the press In re Hearst Newspapers Partnership LP (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Oct. 30, 2007)(Alcala)(civil liberties, first amendment, free speech and press, gag order prohibiting jurors from speaking about case set aside) GRANT PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS: Opinion by Justice Alcala Before Chief Justice Radack, Justices Alcala and Higley 01-07-00866-CV In re Hearst Newspapers Partnership, L.P. and Galveston County Daily News Appeal from 212th District Court of Galveston County (Hon. Susan Elizabeth Criss) Howeth Investments, Inc. v. The City of Hedwig Village (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] Apr. 17, 2008)(Taft) (real estate law, land regulation, plat application, constitutional challenge) AFFIRM TC JUDGMENT: Opinion by Justice Taft Before Justices Taft, Alcala and Hanks 01-05-00904-CV Howeth Investments, Inc., and Jack Howeth, as Trustee for the 881 Development Trust and the 901 Development Trust-assignees for Howeth Investments, Inc. v. The City of Hedwig Village, The City of Hedwig Village Planning and Zoning Commission, and S. Frank White, Robert A. Wiener, Norman E. Ward and Kathering Vazquez Appeal from 189th District Court of Harris County Trial Court Judge: Hon. William R. Burke, Jr. Court Rejects Ex-Post Facto Challenge to Tougher DWI Statute Enacted in 2005; Reverses the trial court's grant of Defendant's motion to quash the indictment State v. Pieper (Tex.App.- Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 24, 2007)(Anderson) REVERSED AND REMANDED: Opinion by Justice Anderson Before Justices Brock Yates, Anderson and Hudson 14-06-00368-CR The State of Texas v. James Roger Pieper Appeal from 248th District Court of Harris County The State of Texas, appellant, charged appellee, James Roger Pieper, with driving while intoxicated ("DWI") and sought to enhance the charge to the felony level by alleging that appellee had been convicted of DWI twice before. Appellee filed a motion to quash the indictment on the grounds that the State's attempt to enhance the charge to a felony amounted to an unconstitutional ex post facto application of Texas's habitual DWI offender statute. The trial court granted appellee's motion and quashed the indictment. We reverse and remand. * * * Because the 2005 version of the DWI enhancement statute is not an ex post facto law as applied to appellee, we hold that the trial court, by finding the statute to be an ex post facto law as applied to appellee, acted without reference to any guiding rules or principles and thus abused its discretion. Accordingly, we sustain the State's issue on appeal. Conclusion. As we have sustained the State's issue on appeal, we reverse the trial court's judgment, and remand this matter to the trial court for proceedings in accordance with this opinion. Gomez v. Pasadena Health Care Management Inc. (Tex.App. - Houston [14th Dist.] Jan. 17, 2008)(Fowler) (HCLC, minor's suit, statute of limitations, open courts challenge) AFFIRMED: Opinion by Justice Fowler Before Justices Brock Yates, Fowler and Guzman 14-06-00605-CV Juan Gomez, as Parent and Next Friend of Michael Gomez, a Minor v. Pasadena Health Care Management, Inc., and Southmore Medical Center, LTD. Appeal from 11th District Court of Harris County (Judge not identified on appellate docket sheet) ================== CASE LAW EXCERPTS Standing to challenge the constitutionality of a statute requires that the plaintiff have suffered some actual or threatened injury under the statute that unconstitutionally restricts his own rights. Barshop v. Medina County Underground Water Conservation Dist., 925 S.W.2d 618, 626 (Tex. 1996). "If a case becomes moot, the parties lose standing to maintain their claims." Williams v. Lara, 52 S.W.3d 171, 184 (Tex. 2001) (citing City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 105-06, 103 S. Ct. 1660, 1666-67 (1983) (holding that inmates who had been released from jail lacked cognizable interest in obtaining injunctive or declaratory relief)). A litigant's request for relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act neither confers jurisdiction on a court nor changes a suit's underlying nature, nor does it waive sovereign immunity to suits that seek to establish a basis for obtaining monetary damages. See IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d at 855, 856; see also Ferrell, 248 S.W.3d at 159 (holding that trial court lacks jurisdiction when legislature has not authorized trial court to grant relief sought). Source: Stephens v. City of Houston (Tex.App.- Houston [1st Dist.] June 12, 2008)(Keyes) (City of Houston litigation, public employment, declaratory judgment suit dismissed for lack of standing, controversy over termination of employment moot, UDJA, termination of employment was final and not appealable.) Selected 2006 Appeals Court Cases Robinson v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] May 4, 2006)(majority opinion by Fowler)(asbestos claim, constitutional challenge as retroactive law denied) AFFIRMED: Plurality Opinion by Justice Fowler Before Chief Justice Hedges, Justices Fowler and Frost 14-04-00658-CV Barbara Robinson, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of John Robinson, Deceased v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. Appeal from 55th District Court of Harris County (Judge Jeff Brown) Dissnet in Robinson v. Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] May 4, 2006)(dissent by Frost) |
| Selected Constitutional Law Cases from Houston Courts of Appeals (Tex.App. - Houston 2009 2008 2007) Houston Opinions |
