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Courts
Both sides satisfied as campaign finance trial ends
Federal Judge Lee Yeakel gave no indication of how he might rule at the end of the trial on Tuesday. But he told the lawyers involved in City Council Member Don Zimmerman’s lawsuit against the city of Austin over its…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Dec 16, 2015
City campaign law on trial in federal court
On Monday, during the first day of trial in City Council Member Don Zimmerman’s suit against the city, the District 6 Council member told federal Judge Lee Yeakel that his First Amendment rights are being violated by Austin’s campaign finance…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Dec 15, 2015
Council affirms support for appraisal district suit
With seven members present at a special called meeting on Thursday, City Council unanimously affirmed its commitment to a lawsuit challenging the accuracy of the Travis Central Appraisal District’s appraised values for commercial properties and vacant land. In that lawsuit,…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Dec 4, 2015
Casa de Luz heads to court
It’s time to add another stanza to the Casa de Luz epic. The parking issues are now moving to district court after a variance request and appeal were denied by the Board of Adjustment. The Board of Adjustment is a…
Courts • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 24, 2015
County's mass-gathering rules now in judge's hands
Travis County and an outdoor music festival had their day in court on Monday, and now the future of controversial revisions in the mass-gathering permitting process rests in a district judge’s hands. The organizers of the Euphoria Music & Camping…
Courts • By Caleb Pritchard • Nov 10, 2015
Update: City loses appraisal district lawsuit
Update: Moday, Nov. 9 After Judge Tim Sulak’s ruling dismissing the city of Austin’s lawsuit on Friday, several parties weighed in. Mayor Steve Adler said, “We need a court to rule on the fairness of the property tax system. The…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Nov 9, 2015
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Court denies injunction against Foundation Communities
How much havoc can one neighbor wreak on a $20 million affordable housing project backed by federal, state and local governments and nonprofits? Potentially, quite a bit. On Tuesday, Foundation Communities avoided potential disaster for its Bluebonnet Studios on South…
Courts • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 5, 2015
County responds to music festival's lawsuit
Travis County has fired off its first volley in its legal fight against an electronic music and camping festival. County Attorney David Escamilla put his imprimatur on a motion filed Wednesday in the 98th District Court asking the judge to…
Courts • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 29, 2015
Who is being sued in city's appraisal suit?
In its lawsuit challenging the Travis Central Appraisal District’s valuations of commercial property and vacant land, the city of Austin has sued the owners of numerous tax exempt properties, including the Salvation Army, the Congress Avenue Baptist Church, the Faith…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Oct 23, 2015
County Clerk speaks out against MERS ruling
Travis County isn’t hiding its displeasure with a recent ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Though the ruling on Dallas County, Texas, et al. v. MERSCORP Inc., et al. came down this summer, it was last week…
Courts • By Elizabeth Pagano • Oct 13, 2015
Judge pondering appraisal district suit
After a three-hour hearing Wednesday, Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak told approximately a dozen lawyers involved in the lawsuit between the city of Austin and the Travis Central Appraisal District, “I’m nowhere close to making a decision on the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Oct 8, 2015
City, Junk Yard Dogs to fight in court today
Although the city of Austin has sued the Travis Central Appraisal District over its valuations of commercial and vacant properties, the first test of the lawsuit’s merit will come in court today not from TCAD, but from the commercial property…