In response to the massive explosion of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket at Boca Chica in South Texas, the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Bird Conservancy, the Surfrider Foundation, Save RGV and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas Inc. sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday for failing to fully analyze and mitigate the environmental harms […]
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Taxpayers sue City Council over funding plan for Statesman site
Taxpayers Against Giveaways, the Save Our Springs Alliance and three taxpayers – former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, former City Council Member Ora Houston and Allandale neighborhood homeowner Faye Holland – have filed a lawsuit suit against City Council to stop it from putting tax money into a fund for development of the former Austin American-Statesman […]
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Paxton sues to overturn vote on U.S. budget
Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the federal government alleging that the final vote to approve the U.S. budget by the House of Representatives last December was illegal because not enough members were physically present. The suit, filed in federal court in Lubbock, attacks not only the manner in which the vote was […]
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Some Travis County residents can clear their arrest records at the 2023 Expunction Expo
Lee esta historia en español Travis County is set to host its fourth “expunction expo” May 20, an event where people who have been arrested but not convicted can remove the arrest from their record. Travis County District Attorney José Garza said removing such arrests can provide something of a clean start. “The arrest on a […]
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Group again sues city over changes to development rules
A group that stopped the city’s rewrite of the Land Development Code has filed a motion in Travis County District Court to undo changes City Council made to the code after that ruling. Led by Francisca Acuña, the group contends the city violated the order when Council approved the Vertical Mixed Use 2 (VMU2) Ordinance, […]
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Jury says Austin Energy retaliated against employee
Editor’s note: More than two years after the publication of this story, the city won the case at the court of appeals. A Travis County district court jury has voted to award $750,000 to an Austin Energy employee after finding that other city employees retaliated against her after she filed a complaint with the Equal […]
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County votes to introduce bill to add $1.2 million probate court
The Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to approve a preliminary step in the creation of a new probate court, which would take the total number up to two, in line with other large counties in Texas. When the item was brought up in court two weeks ago, it raised questions of affordability and shared costs […]
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Central Health, Ascension Texas sue over care for low-income residents
After years of failed negotiations over health care services to low-income residents and payments for those services, Central Health, the Travis County health care district, filed suit Tuesday against Ascension Texas, a nationwide chain of hospitals and health care facilities. Ascension Texas operates Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas as well as […]
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Travis County might create a probate court, but where is the money?
Travis County is one of the few large counties in the state with only a single probate court, but it may be adding a new one. The Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution last week to post a public notice explaining the possibility of creating an additional court, as required by the Texas […]
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Can ERCOT even be sued? Texas Supreme Court will decide.
The Supreme Court of Texas will hear oral arguments Monday in a case that could decide the future of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. At issue: whether the group that runs the Texas energy grid is, in fact, a part of the state government. The case stems from two lawsuits against ERCOT. One of […]
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Toll road agency, tech firm square off in court
At the end of a lengthy hearing Tuesday, Judge Eric Shepperd of Travis County Court at Law No. 2 told lawyers for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and the technology company suing the agency he would be back with a decision as soon as possible on whether the toll road authority must repair drainage […]
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Judge rejects voting rights suit against city
In a brief letter Tuesday, Travis County District Court Judge Lora Livingston ruled in favor of the city of Austin and against plaintiffs who argued they were being denied their right to vote as a result of redistricting. The plaintiffs argued that, when they were moved into another district that isn’t voting this year, they […]