The City of Lake Jackson v. Adaway
| Decision Date | 23 May 2023 |
| Docket Number | 01-22-00033-CV |
| Parties | THE CITY OF LAKE JACKSON AND VELASCO DRAINAGE DISTRICT, Appellants v. RICKY ADAWAY, ROBERT ADEN, THOMAS ALBERS, BRIAN ALLEN, MAURO ALMENDAREZ, ROSA ALVAREZ, LISA ANDERSON, CYNTHIA BACA, JASON BARTON, DAVID BAUMAN, ERNESTO BAVAJAS, JORGE BEJARANO, JAMES BEYER, TOMMY BLAIR, BRENT BOWERS, BRIAN BOWERS, RAVEN BOYD, STEPHEN BROWNING, JAMES BRUCE, LINDA CALL, MILDRED CAMMACK, ROGEL CANALES, ISEDOR CANTU, THOMAS CARSON, ERNEST CASTRO, GERARDO CESPEDES, JAMES CHAPA, ROGELIO CHARLEZ, RICHARD CHILSON, HOMER CHOATE, ROBERT CLAY, JOHN COHEA, MICHAEL COLON, LORENZO CONTRERAS, MAGGIE COOK, CAROL COOPER, CHRISTOPHER COPUS, ARACELI CORTEZ, REBECCA CORTEZ, SANTIAGO CUELLAR, JERRY DANES, FERNANDO DEALBA, GERARDO DELACRUZ, JOSE DIAZ, BRAD DIER, RICHARD J. DUFFEY, NATA LEA EASTMAN, EDWARD EDWARDS, JAVIER ELIZONDO, TRACY ESCAMILLA, PETRONILO (NIEL) ESQUIVEL, DOMINIQUE ESTRELLO, JEFF EVANS, ALDO FRIAS, JARED FRIUDENBERG, JUAN GARCIA, JOE GARCIA, FELIX GARCIA, GERARDO GARCIA, ELIZABETH GARZA, HERMEREGILDO GARZA, ELIAS GARZA, ALEXANDER GARZA, ROBERT GASKINS, TAITE GELLASCH, GRABIEL (GABRIEL) GONZALES, ROLAND GONZALES, RAUL GONZALEZ, JAMES GRAY, JOHN GRAY, MARIO GUEL SR., ALBERTO GUERRERO, GUADALUPE GUEVARA, RUBEN GUTIERREZ, SCOTT HEATON, JASON HENNEKE, ROBERT HERNANDEZ, MICHAEL HINES, CHARLENE HUGHES, LARRY HULTQUIST, DARREN INGRAM, SANTIAGO ISAIS, ENRIQUE ISAIS, MOSI JAMES, GEORGINA JELINEK, FRANCISCO JEREDA, JUAN JIMENEZ, GREGORY JOHNSON, TORY JONES, JASON KING, JESSICA KNIGHT, RALPH KOFFEL, ANGELA KORNEGAY, CASEY KURTZ, BECKY LAFOUR, MARIA LAWS, STACY LEVIAS, ANTONIO LOPEZ, JANET MANGUM, BRENDA MANN, JAMIE MAY, JOSEPH MCADA, KEVIN MCKINNEY, KELLY MCNABB, EFRAIN MEDRANO, JOHN MENDOZA, ELIZABETH MEZA, LESTER “CHIP” MELTON, ANTONIO MILLAN, CHAD MOORE, JULIE MORALES, PEDRO MORALES, PATRICIA MORROW, PAUL MORROW, SAMUEL MOSAUER, DAN MOSER, JOE MUNDO, MICHAEL MUNN, R.P. MUSICK, JUAN NAVA, STEPHEN OLER, JAMES O'PRY, EDGAR ORDONES, VERONICA PADILLA, MARTIN PAIZ, VICTOR PARRA, HORACIO PENA, JAMES PHILLIPS, JOHN POTTS, MICHAEL PRASLICKA, MATTHEW QUIN, AMY QUINTANILLA, RUBEN REYES, DAVID REYES, ESTEBAN REYNA, DUSTIN RHOADES, KELLY ROBERTS, NELSON RODRIGUEZ, PABLO RODRIGUEZ, MARTHA RODRIGUEZ, SILVIA ROSALES, KENNETH ROUSER, KATHERINE RUBIO, JOE SAAVEDRA, JULIAN SALDAÑA, DONNA SANCHEZ, FRANCISCO SANCHEZ, STEVE SANDERS, PAT SHADDEN, JACK SHOOK, DON SHREVES, LESLIE SHRUM, BRETT SILVESTER, ALAN SIMMONS, NATALIE SINGH, ASHTON SLATER, PEGGY SLOCUM, JERRY SMITH, CHRIS SORIA, JUSTIN SPARKMAN, CHAD SPEERS, RICHARD SPENCER, BRIAN STANFORD, CRAIG STANZEL, HARRY STEWART, RAYMOND STILES, ROLLINS STUTZMAN, HARLEY SUTTON, FRANK TANNER, KENNETH TERRELL, LYNDA THOMAS, SHANNON TIGNER, DARRYL TINER, SEAN TOWEY, MAI THI TRUONG, TERRY TURNER, DONALD UTLEY, REBECCA VERMILLION, REBECCA VERMILLION, DANNY VICKERS, VICTOR WADE, VICTOR WADE, CARL WALDEN, LANCE WALLACE, JACK WALLIS, JAMIE WARDLOW, DAVID WATTS, MARK WESSELS, DOROTHY WEST, ROBERT WHITE, HENRY WILLIS, ROBERT WILLIS, FLOYD WILSON, ROBERT WILSON, KARL WINTERS, ORRIC WOODARD, FRANKLIN WYATT-MERRITT, BARBARA ZETKA, LILLIAN ADEN, LINDSEY ALBERS, RHODE ALMENDAREZ, JASON BACA, KRISTEN BARTON, KAYLEE BAUMAN, GUADALUPE BEYER, DIMPLE BOWERS, LYNN BOWERS, JUDY HAILEY, PAMELA BROWNING, REBEKAH BRUCE, CONCEPCION CANALES, IDA CANTU, NORMA CASTRO, BRENDA CESPEDES, JULIA CHARLEZ, DAWN CHILSON, BARBARA CHOATE, KENNETH MATTHEW CHRONISTER, BARBARA CLAY, CORINA COLON, CLAUDIA CONTRERAS, STEPHEN COOK, DARLA COPUS, TANYA CORTEZ, GABRIELLA CUELLAR, VICTORIA DANES, JENNIFER DEALBA, MINDY DELACRUZ, SHANNON DIER, THE ESTATE OF PHILIP EASTMAN, KATHY EDWARDS, SYLVIA ELIZONDO, JUAN BOCANEGRA, NICOLE ESQUIVEL, AMBER ESTRELLO, THERESA EVANS, AMERICA FRIAS, MELINDA FRIUDENBERG, LINDA GARCIA, AMERICA GARCIA, VIRGINIA GARZA, AURORA GARZA, AIDA GARZA, CHANTEL GASKINS, CYNTHIA GONZALES, DORA GONZALEZ, WENDY GRAY, ELIZABETH GUERRERO, PENNY GUTIERREZ, KATHY HEATON, LORI HERNANDEZ, GRACE HINES, WILBURN HUGHES, MISTY INGRAM, CHRISTINA ESTRADA, CHENE COOKE-JEREDA, JINNA JIMENEZ, CINDY JONES, JARROD KNIGHT, RHONDA KOFFEL, JEFF KURTZ, EDDIE DEAN, CYNTHIA LOPEZ, JOHN “RUSTY” MANGUM, JAMES MANN, JOSH MAY, JULIE MCADA, IRMA MCKINNEY, ANTONIO MEZA, THOLOCCO MELTON, HILDA GUADALUPE PADILLA VEGA, MARIBEL GARZA, DOLORES MOSAUER, BLANCHE MOSER, ANNA TREVINO, LACI MUNN, NORMA NAVA, RENEE O'PRY, MELISSA PAIZ, MARIA PARRA, MARIA LOZANO, SHIRLEY PHILLIPS, LAVONDA POTTS, JAMIE PRASLICKA, DINA QUIN, BENITO QUINTANILLA, JINA REYES, NORMA REYES, GRISELDA REYNA, LETICIA RODRIGUEZ, CHAUALITA RODRIGUEZ, JAVIAR MENDOZA, CANDELARIO CISNEROS, KENZI ROUSER, SHERRI SAAVEDRA, SARAH HUFFAKER, LUCIA SANDERS, MARILLA SHOOK, PERRY SHRUM, AMY SILVESTER, BRIDGETTE SIMMONS, AARON MASON, NANCEE SMITH, LAUREN SORIA, ROBBI SPARKMAN, LAURA SPEERS, CYNTHIA BROWN, DANIELLE STANFORD, LYDIA STANZEL, LINDA STEWART, NICOLE STILES, DALIA STUTZMAN, AMANDA SUTTON, DEBORAH MADDOX-TANNER, BECKY TERRELL, DAVID THOMAS, JEANA TINER, DANIEL VERMILLION, DANIEL VERMILLION, SHERRY YOUNG, MELISSA WALLACE, TESSA WALLIS, HOWARD WARDLOW, CHERYL WATTS, JENNIFER WESSELS, CAROLYN WILLIS, THERESA WILLIS, MICKYE WILSON, KRISTEN WINTERS, STEPHANI WYATT-MERRITT, TERRY ALEXANDER, RANDY ALEXANDER, TERESA ARRAMBIDE, HOMER ARRAMBIDE, JANIE AUD, JIM AUD, MA. ESTHER SANCHEZ VEGA, ESTEBAN AVELLANEDA, GLORIA BARRINGTON, JAMES BARRINGTON, CHRISTOPHER BASCOM, OLAYA BEJARANO, BARBARA BLUEJACKET, RODNEY BLUEJACKET, RONALD BRAGG, JASON BREAUX, JOHNYE BROWN, STEVE BROWN, WILLIAM CAILLOVET, JOVITA CARRASCO, JOSE CARRASCO, MELISSA CARSON, PATROCINA MORALES, RENE CELEDON, CAROL COBB, ANNE COHEA, ANNETTE COOK, CARMEN COOK, SEAN COOK, LAVERNE COOPER, ZENO COOPER, IRIS D. LONGORIA, RICHARD B. DUFFEY, ANN EVANS, KRISTINA ENGHOLM, ALYSON GLOVER, ALEXANDER GLOVER, JOSEPH GOENS, MARLENA GRAY, CASSANDRA GRICE, ALVIN GRICE, KEREN CORDERO, MITCHELL HAMILTON, JASON HAYES, REBA HOLDER, VALERIE HOWARD, ROBERT HOWARD, DARYL JAHNS, KAREN JAHNS, TAMMY LEGG, DERRICK JONES, SHERRY KIRTS, DAVID KIRTS, JUANITA LOPEZ, ABELARDO LOPEZ, JARED MACHACEK, CANDIE MACHACEK, DEBRA MCDONALD, JON MCDONALD, REBECCA MOORE, ERIC MOORE, JERRICAH MORALES, JIMMY CRIDDLE, SHERRIE MOSQUEDA, NOE MOSQUEDA, DELILA MYERS, SYLVIA RIVAS, MICHAEL RIVAS, JEREMY SANDERS, SHELLY SANDERS, JOSHUA SAVOY, STEVEN SHADDEN, EDWARD WRIGHT, JESSICA SHORTER, BRENDA SIMONEAU, DONALD SIMONEAU, CYNTHIA SPRAYBERRY, MAYLINN TARBUTTON, DAVID TARBUTTON, JAMES THOMPSON SR., MICHAEL TINNON, SHIRLEY TOLBERT, MICHAEL TORRANCE, CARINE TORRANCE, DEBBIE WARREN, BRUCE WARREN, DENISE SOLIS, EVERETT WRIGHT, SANDRA WRIGHT, LAWRENCE WRIGHT, GLENDA ZINK, AND DAVID ZINK, Appellees |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
On Appeal from the 239th District Court Brazoria County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 95727-CV
Panel consists of Justices Goodman, Hightower, and Guerra.
In this case, property owners in Brazoria County sued the City of Lake Jackson and the Velasco Drainage District, asserting the governmental entities took certain flood mitigation actions during and after Hurricane Harvey that caused their properties to flood. The governmental entities filed pleas to the jurisdiction, claiming governmental immunity deprived the trial court of subject-matter jurisdiction, which the trial court denied. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm in part, reverse and render in part, and reverse and remand in part the trial court's order.
The City of Lake Jackson, like the rest of Brazoria County, was subjected to heavy rainfall during Hurricane Harvey in late August of 2017. The City and the local drainage authority the Velasco Drainage District, took three flood-mitigation measures that are at issue. They: (1) closed a metal flap gate in the Brazos Canal on the south side of FM 2004, a highway north of Lake Jackson, to stop water in the canal from flowing from the north side of the highway to the south side; (2) used several motorized pumps to pump water in the canal from the south side of FM 2004 back to the north side and (3) enlisted volunteers to build a temporary sandbag dam along FM 2004 to stop water from flowing over the north side of the highway to the south side, where Lake Jackson is located. The City does not dispute that it took these actions, but the District denies its involvement.
The plaintiffs in the underlying suit, more than 400 owners of property in and around the neighboring town of Richwood alleged that these three actions diverted flood water away from the City of Lake Jackson at the expense of Richwood. These actions, the property owners claimed, caused their properties to flood when the properties would not otherwise have flooded.
The property owners sued the City and the District in February 2018. The property owners alleged claims for a taking under Article 1, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution; nuisance trespass; negligence; and a statutory taking under Chapter 2007 of the Government Code. Both the City and the District filed pleas to the jurisdiction, claiming their governmental immunity deprived the trial court of subject-matter jurisdiction. In response, the property owners filed an amended petition in September 2018, also adding a number of new plaintiffs at that time.
In their pleas to the jurisdiction, the City and District argued that all of the property owners' claims failed on the element of causation: the City's and District's actions, they claimed, did not cause the property owners' flooding, and therefore the property owners failed to allege any claims for which governmental immunity had been waived.
The City and the District filed with their pleas to the jurisdiction an expert report by Dr. John S. Grounds, a hydrology expert with a Ph.D. in civil engineering and extensive experience in planning, analyzing, and designing drainage and flood control projects. After...
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