City of Roanoke v. Town of Westlake

• Decision Date: 22 May 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2-01-290-CV.,2-01-290-CV.
• Citation: 111 S.W.3d 617
• Parties: CITY OF ROANOKE, Appellant, v. TOWN OF WESTLAKE, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

111 S.W.3d 617

CITY OF ROANOKE, Appellant, v. TOWN OF WESTLAKE, Appellee.

No. 2-01-290-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth.

May 22, 2003.

Rehearings Overruled June 26 and July 3, 2003.

Michael J. McEntire, Fort Worth, for appellant.

Goins, Underkofler, Crawford & Langdon, LLP, E. Eldridge Goins, James William Morris, Dallas, Boyle & Lowry, LLP, L. Stanton Lowry, Irving, for appellee.

PANEL A: CAYCE, C.J.; DAY and GARDNER, JJ.

OPINION

ANNE GARDNER, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

The City of Roanoke ("Roanoke") appeals from a summary judgment in favor of the Town of Westlake ("Westlake") declaring annexation of certain tracts of land by Westlake to be valid. Roanoke raises three issues, contending the trial court erred by declaring, in granting Westlake's summary judgment, that Westlake's annexations in 1985 and 1995 were valid and that a Rule 11 settlement agreement purporting to disannex the tracts and apportion them between the cities was unenforceable as a contract. Roanoke also appeals the denial of its cross-motion for summary judgment seeking a declaratory judgment that Westlake's purported annexation of land in 1995 was void, as a matter of law. We affirm in part, reverse and render in part, and remand in part.

II. BACKGROUND FACTS

A. The Annexation Ordinances

Westlake is a general law municipality located in Tarrant and Denton Counties. Roanoke is a general law municipality located in Denton County. Both municipalities had fewer than 5,000 inhabitants at all relevant times, and both operate under the "aldermanic" form of government.¹ Three tracts of land are in question, located between Roanoke and Westlake and claimed to be within the extraterritorial jurisdiction ("ETJ") of both municipalities.²

On April 8, 1985, Westlake passed Ordinance No. 138, annexing a tract consisting of 29.112 acres of land. On the same date, by Ordinance No. 139, Westlake annexed a second tract containing 382.76 acres.³ On April 16, 1985, Roanoke passed an ordinance attempting to annex a portion of the same property previously annexed by Westlake into its own boundaries. On September 17, 1985, Roanoke passed another ordinance purporting to annex additional portions of the property previously annexed by Westlake. On March 6, 1995, Westlake enacted Ordinance No. 236, annexing the third tract in issue, comprising approximately 58.96 acres.

B. Attempted Disannexation and Settlement

Scott Bradley was elected mayor of Westlake in May 1994, and was re-elected in 1996. An election was scheduled in Westlake for May 3, 1997, for three seats on the Westlake Board of Aldermen. On April 14, 1997, one of the existing members of the Board of Aldermen filed charges of misconduct and incompetency against Bradley. On April 29,1997, that Alderman and three other members of the Board of Aldermen of Westlake (referred to by Westlake as the "disannexing Aldermen") sat as a court to hear the charges against Bradley and voted to remove him from office as mayor. On the same date, Carol Huntress, one of the disannexing Aldermen who was also mayor pro-tem of Westlake, posted a Notice of Special Meeting to be held May 2, 1997, in order to fill the vacancy in the office of mayor, to disannex the properties in issue and other properties from Westlake, and to "release" those properties to Roanoke and other neighboring cities.

On May 1, 1997, Bradley posted a notice on the front door of the Town Hall that the special meeting was illegally called by Huntress and was cancelled. In the face of this action by Bradley, the disannexing Aldermen met on May 2, 1997, purported to install Dale White as mayor, attempted to delay installation of newly elected board members, and purported to pass ordinances and resolutions disannexing the tracts in question and releasing Westlake's ETJ over the tracts.

On May 3, 1997, the Westlake elections were held, with the result that new Aldermen were elected and two of the disannexing Aldermen were no longer on the board. On May 5, 1997, Bradley canvassed the results of the election and swore in the new Aldermen. By letter of May 5, 1997, Bradley vetoed the actions taken by the disannexing Aldermen, put Roanoke on notice that the attempts to disannex the property in issue were illegal, and demanded that Roanoke cease any attempt to take jurisdiction over the property.⁴ Once seated, the new Board voted unanimously to repeal the disannexation ordinances and resolutions.

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Filing of this Suit

Roanoke filed this suit against Westlake in the 367th District Court of Denton County, Texas, on February 28, 1997. By its suit, Roanoke sought to have the 1995 Westlake Ordinance No. 236, annexing the 58.96 acre tract, declared void.⁵ Roanoke alleged that the tract was within the overlapping ETJs of Roanoke and Westlake, and that Westlake had failed to obtain statutorily required written consent of Roanoke for annexation of that property, rendering the attempted annexation void. Roanoke further sought to have the land apportioned between the two cities.

B. The Rule 11 Settlement Agreement

At the meeting on May 2, 1997, in addition to purporting to disannex the tracts in question, along with other properties from Westlake, and to release Westlake's ETJ over those tracts to Roanoke and other neighboring cities, the disannexing Westlake Aldermen also voted to settle this suit and purported to authorize attorney R. William Wood, a new attorney of record for Westlake who was substituted for Westlake's original attorney in the case to enter into a settlement agreement on behalf of Westlake with Roanoke. Wood entered into a written settlement agreement with counsel for Roanoke on the same date, pursuant to which the 1995 Westlake Ordinance Nos. 236, 237, and 253, as well as the 1985 Westlake Ordinance Nos. 138 and 139, would be declared void and the portions of those lands lying north of State Highway 170 would be apportioned to Roanoke.

On May 9, 1997, Roanoke amended its petition to include a request for declaratory relief that Westlake's 1985 Ordinance Nos. 138 and 139, annexing the 29.112 acre and the 38.76 acre tracts, as well as the 1995 Ordinance annexing the 58.96 acre tract, were void, and sought apportionment of the properties between the two cities. On the same date, Roanoke filed its Motion to Enter Judgment based on the Rule 11 settlement agreement. Wood, as attorney for Westlake, likewise filed a motion to enter judgment on the Rule 11 agreement.

C. The Agreed Judgment

On May 12, 1997, during the hearing on the motions to enter judgment, Westlake had its original counsel substituted back into the suit for Wood as its attorney of record, and withdrew its consent to the Rule 11 agreement. The trial court rendered judgment on the Rule 11 agreement, but subsequently granted Westlake's motion to set aside the judgment and for new trial.⁶

Westlake thereafter filed an amended answer and counterclaim for injunctive and declaratory relief, asserting that the ordinances disannexing the properties and releasing Westlake's ETJ over them to Roanoke were illegal and unauthorized, and that each of the properties was validly annexed and remained part of the incorporated limits of Westlake.

D. The Summary Judgments

Roanoke filed a motion for summary judgment on its claim that Westlake's annexation of the 58.96 acre tract was void and for enforcement of the Rule 11 agreement as to all three properties. Westlake filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the property, some of which was purportedly annexed by Roanoke in 1985, was within the corporate limits of Westlake. Westlake's motion further sought relief declaring Roanoke's attempted annexation of that property into Roanoke's ETJ to be void and that the Rule 11 agreement was unenforceable. Pre-trial matters in this and related cases involving other surrounding municipalities, growing out of the actions of the disannexing Aldermen, were assigned to the 17th District Court of Tarrant County, Texas by the Administrative Judge of the 8th Administrative Judicial Region.

In the meantime, the State of Texas on relation of Dale White, filed a quo warranto proceeding in Tarrant County, seeking a declaration that White, not Bradley, was the lawful mayor of Westlake. In April of 1999, the Supreme Court of Texas held in that case that the removal of Bradley as mayor by the Westlake Board of Aldermen was void, and declared that Bradley remained the lawful mayor of Westlake at all times from the date of his attempted removal. Bradley v. State of Texas ex rel. White, 990 S.W.2d 245, 249 (Tex.1999).

Westlake then filed its first amended motion for partial summary judgment in this suit. Westlake argued that its 1985 and 1995 annexations of the tracts were valid; that Roanoke's later attempted annexations of the tracts were invalid; that the actions of the disannexing Aldermen were void because those actions lacked mayoral consent and were taken at illegally held meetings; and that Westlake's annexation ordinances were valid. Roanoke thereafter filed a first amended motion for partial summary judgment, asserting that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law that the purported annexation of the 58.96 acre tract by Westlake in 1995 was within the Roanoke ETJ and was void. Roanoke also responded to Westlake's first amended motion, contending that issues of fact were raised as to the validity of Ordinance Nos. 138 and 139 and as to the enforceability of the Rule 11 agreement.

The trial court granted Westlake's first amended motion and denied Roanoke's first amended motion. The judgment declared that the purported disannexation and release of Westlake's ETJ over the property described in the ordinances passed by the disannexing Aldermen were void, that Westlake Ordinance Nos. 138, 139, 236, 237, and 253 were valid, and that the tracts in question remained in Westlake's corporate limits Westlake non-suited its remaining claims, resulting in a final...