Winship v. City of Corpus Christi

• Decision Date: 19 December 1963
• Docket Number: No. 15,15
• Citation: 373 S.W.2d 844
• Parties: W. L. D. WINSHIP et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 844

373 S.W.2d 844

W. L. D. WINSHIP et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, Appellee.

No. 15.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas, Corpus Christi.

Dec. 19, 1963.

Rehearing Denied Jan. 9, 1964.

Sidney P. Chandler, Allen Davis of Boone, Davis, Cox & Hale, Corpus Christi, for appellants.

Ike Singer, City Atty., James Ryan, W. D. Pilcher, Asst. City Attys., Corpus Christi, for appellee.

SHARPE, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment rendered in favor of the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, appellee, and from the order of the trial court refusing to grant the motion for summary judgment filed by some of appellants.

The suit involves two annexations of territory by the City of Corpus Christi in the years 1961 and 1962. It was instituted against the City by a group claiming to be property owners and taxpayers within the territory sought to be annexed. Another group intervened, claiming to be taxpayers and property owners within the former city limits. Nueces County Water Control & Improvement District No. 2 also intervened and thereafter plaintiffs amended, naming Nueces County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 as an additional defendant. All of the said parties, except the City of Corpus Christi, appeal herein as appellants, contending that the said annexations are invalid and that the trial judge should not have sustained the motion for summary judgment of the City upholding the same.

It appears from the record, and all parties agree, that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and only questions of law concerning the validity of such annexations are presented on this appeal.

The record shows that the annexations of August, 1961, and September, 1962, included a portion, but not all, of Nueces County Water Control & Improvement District No. 2, and the annexation of September, 1962, included a portion, but not all, of Nueces County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1. The annexations were approved by the qualified voters of the City at separate elections held in 1961 and 1962, and ordinances were passed incorporating the new territory into the City of Corpus Christi. ¹ Voting in such elections was not limited to the legally qualified property tax paying voters and there was no election held for the voters in the territory sought to be annexed. In neither of such elections was there submitted any proposition relating to the assumption of debt, expenditure of money, or issuance of bonds or landing of credit.

Appellants urge seven points of error in connection with the action of the trial court in granting summary judgment in favor of the City and in refusing their similar motion. Appellee urges six counter-points for upholding the action of the lower court.

Appellants' points are so general that in order to determine the contentions made it has been necessary for us to refer to the statement and argument in connection therewith. Fambrough v. Wagley, 140 Tex. 577, 169 S.W.2d 478 (1943); Saldana v. Garcia, 155 Tex. 242, 285 S.W.2d 197 (1956). From such examination it appears that appellants' primary contention is that Article 1182a, Vernon's Ann.Civ.Tex.St., prescribed the method to be followed by the City in annexing territory, and since the City did not follow such method that the annexations are void. ²

Appellants also contend that even if Article 1182a does not apply to the instant annexations, the voters participating in the elections must be qualified under Article VI, Sec. 3 and Sec. 3a, Texas Constitution, Vernon's Ann.St. that is, be legally qualified property taxpaying voters, where districts with bonded indebtedness are to be annexed; that Articles 1182a, 1182c-1, V.A.T.S., and equity require the City to assume its pro-rata part of the bonded indebtedness of the districts annexed; that the City Charter does not authorize annexation of parts of water districts by ordinance or without the consent of the voters in the area to be annexed; and that the instant annexations amount to a taking of the property of appellants without due process of law in violation of the Constitutions of the State of Texas and of the United States, and are void.

We have concluded that all of appellants' contentions are without merit and should be overruled.

The City of Corpus Christi, Texas, is a home rule city operating under the provisions of Article XI, Sec. 5, Constitution of the State of Texas, commonly known as the Home Rule Amendment. A city of such class may exercise all of the legislative powers vested in it by the Constitution and laws of Texas and by the provisions of its charter, including the annexation of additional territory adjacent to it. Golston v. City of Tyler, 262 S.W.2d 518 (Tex.Civ.App., 1953, writ refused).

It is undisputed that the City did not attempt to effect the said annexations under Article 1182a, but that the same were conducted under provisions of the City Charter. The material portions of such charter provisions are set out below. ³

We hold that the City of Corpus Christi was not required to comply with the provisions of Article 1182a and was authorized to follow the provisions of its charter in connection with the annexations here involved. Article 1182a is not exclusive in its operation, but, on the other hand, is cumulative of established methods of annexing territory provided for by city charters. City of Pelly et al. v. Harris County Water Control & Improvement District 7 et al., 145 Tex. 443, 198 S.W.2d 450 (1946); City of Fort Worth v. State ex rel. Ridglea Village, 186 S.W.2d 323 (Tex.Civ.App., 1945, writ refused w. o. m.); Turner v. City of Beaumont, 197 S.W.2d 114 (Tex.Civ.App., 1946, writ refused n. r. e.); Allen v. City of Austin, 116 S.W.2d 468 (Tex.Civ.App., 1938, writ refused).

Article 1182c-1, V.A.T.S., enacted in 1957, contains provisions concerning annexation of less than all of the territory of water control and improvement districts and fresh water supply districts. Among other things, such statute provides that the governing authorities of the City and District in question may enter into contracts regarding division and allocation of duplicate and overlapping powers, functions and duties. Said statute further provides that in the absence of such contract, the district shall be authorized to continue the exercise of all its powers and functions which it had prior to annexation and the city shall not duplicate the services of the district within its boundaries without the district's consent. Article 1182c-1 clearly recognizes the right of the City to annex less than all of the water district or fresh water supply district without assumption of indebtedness or expenditure of money.

The validity of Article 1182c-1 has been upheld in the case of Forbes v. City of Houston, 304 S.W.2d 542 (Tex.Civ.App., 1957, writ refused n. r. e.); and it is specifically held therein that said Article does not violate Sec. 3 and Sec. 3a of Article VI, Texas Constitution. The last mentioned sections merely prescribe the qualifications of voters where the matter of assuming or creating indebtedness is actually submitted to the people. In the present case, there was no requirement and it was not necessary to submit such questions in connection with annexation and they were not submitted.

Our Supreme Court has recently passed upon a case where a city annexed part of a water district without resolving questions of indebtedness or expenditure of money. Jefferson County Water Control and Improvements District No. 5 v. City of Port Arthur,...