Marfil v. City of New Braunfels

70 F.4th 893

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: June 16, 2023
• Docket: 22-50908
• Status: Published

Opinion

Case: 22-50908 Document: 00516789701 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/16/2023

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED June 16, 2023 No. 22-50908 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

Rafael Marfil; Verge Productions, L.L.C.; Enrico Marfil; Naomi Marfil; Korey A. Rholack; Daniel Olveda; Douglas Wayne Mathes,

Plaintiffs—Appellants,

versus

City of New Braunfels, Texas,

Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 6:20-CV-248 ______________________________

Before Jones, Clement, and Haynes, Circuit Judges. 1 Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge: Plaintiffs here appeal the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of their complaint alleging that the City of New Braunfels’s zoning regulation banning short- term rentals of residential properties in certain areas of the city is unconstitutional. The district court ordered dismissal by approving a few

_____________________ 1 Judge Haynes dissents. She would affirm for the reasons stated by the district court. Case: 22-50908 Document: 00516789701 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/16/2023

No. 22-50908

conclusory paragraphs in a magistrate judge’s recommendation. This court’s relevant case law, however, indicates that some factual development may often occur in these cases, and that summary judgment may often follow. See, e.g., Mahone v. Addicks Util. Dist., 836 F.2d 921, 935–37 (5th Cir. 1988). We make no prediction on the future course of this case, but based on the complaint’s well-pled allegations, plaintiffs are entitled to engage in discovery in an attempt to surmount the currently high bar for challenging local zoning ordinances under the Constitution. VACATED and REMANDED.