Moody v. Texas Water Commission

373 S.W.2d 793, 1963 Tex. App. LEXIS 1892
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 20, 1963
Docket11126
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 373 S.W.2d 793 (Moody v. Texas Water Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moody v. Texas Water Commission, 373 S.W.2d 793, 1963 Tex. App. LEXIS 1892 (Tex. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinions

ARCHER, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing appellants’ cause of action because of lack of jurisdiction.

The appeal is based on five points assigned as error and are:

“First Point: The trial court erred in holding that the order of the Texas Water Commission, dated August 2, 1962, was a final order from which an appeal would not lie to the courts.
“Second Point: The trial court erred in holding that Section 5 of Article 7472e denied to appellants the right to appeal from the order of August 2, 1962, even though the Texas Water Commission had not observed and followed the mandatory provisions of Article 7472e in determining feasibility of the Federal project.
“Third Point: The action of the trial’ court in dismissing this cause of action constituted a denial to appellants of the due process clause of Article 1, Section 19, of the Texas Constitution, and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United .States Constitution.
“Fourth Point: The trial court erred' in holding that appellants’ suit attacking the validity of the Commission’s order of August 2, 1962, was prematurely filed.
“Fifth Point: The trial court erred in holding that appellants had no justi-ciable interest in the order of the Commission until the Commission had entered a final order relating to the appropriation and diversion of public waters, as provided by Articles 7492, et seq., Vernon’s Revised Civil Statutes.”

This suit was filed by the appellants, complaining of the Texas Water Commission and the Brazos River Authority, alleging that plaintiffs each owned land which would be taken and inundated by reason of the construction of the water impoundment project

Allegations were made that Brazos River Authority is an agency of the State; that Texas Water Commission is an agency of the State and that the trial court had jurisdiction and venue of the proceedings under the provisions of Article 7477, Section 12, V.A.C.S.

Further allegation was that the Navasota River is an intrastate stream across which the project involved would be constructed and that pursuant to the provisions of Article 7472e before any project which is recommended by a Federal Agency pertaining to the impoundment of water can be authorized, such must be submitted to the Governor of Texas, who is required to forward such recommendation to the Water Commission which is vested with the authority [795]*795to approve or disapprove the feasibility of such project after a hearing.

On April 11, 1962, the Corps of Engineers of the Army pursuant to prior direction of the Water Commission submitted its recommendation for the construction of the project to the Governor who transmitted the report to the Texas Water Commission which "held a public hearing on May 10, 1962, of testimony relative to the feasibility of such impoundment and subsequently issued its ■order finding the water impoundment project to be feasible and transmitted a copy ■of such order to the Governor who notified the Corps of Engineers of the finding.

Plaintiffs sought a judgment declaring the order entered by the Water Commission to be void and of no effect and for an injunction against the Brazos River Authority from entering into any contract to reimburse the United States Government for any sums of money for the construction of the project involved herein.

The Texas Water Commission answered by a plea to the jurisdiction of the court on several grounds and subject to such pleas filed 19 special exceptions and a general denial.

The City of Bryan, City of College Station and the City of Navasota intervened, pleading that they were interested in the matters in controversy and would be affected by the decree of the court and abated the pleas and special exceptions of the Texas Water Commission.

The parties stipulated as to material fact issues and on May 2, 1963, the court made and entered the following judgment:

“Be it remembered that on October 26, 1962, came on to be heard and considered by the Court the pleas to the jurisdiction filed herein by defendant, Texas Water Commission, and, after hearing argument of counsel, the Court entered its order on the 30th day of October, 1962, overruling said pleas to the jurisdiction.
“Thereafter, on the 28th day of March 1963, the parties by their attorneys of record, appeared for the purpose of hearing the motion of the defendant, Texas Water Commission to dismiss this suit on the ground that it was prematurely filed and, in the alternative, that said cause be dismissed on the ground that it was moot. After considering said motion and argument of counsel, the Court took the matter under advisement and, after due deliberation and consideration of the pleadings and the briefs, the Court is of the opinion that its order entered on October 30, 1962, overruling the plea to the jurisdiction filed herein by Texas Water Commission should be and the same is hereby set aside and held for naught.
“After due consideration the Court is of the opinion that this cause should be dismissed for want of jurisdiction because Section 5 of Article 7472e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, provides that the action of the Texas Water Commission in this cause shall be final, no provision for appeal being provided; because the order of the Texas Water Commission here in issue is not a final order of an agency having exclusive jurisdiction over the subject matter of the order; because no vested property right of plaintiffs has been affected; and because further proceedings before the Texas Water Commission are required by Article 7492 et seq., Vernon’s Civil Statutes, before any final order may be entered relating to the impoundment and diversion of public waters and before plaintiffs will have such a justiciable interest as to authorize them to maintain a cause of action against the Texas Water Commission.
“It is therefore ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED by the Court that this cause of action asserted herein by the plaintiffs be and the same is hereby dismissed for want of jurisdic[796]*796tion for the reasons hereinabove set out.
“It is further ORDERED by the Court that all costs incurred herein be taxed against the plaintiffs. To this order, judgment and decree of the Court, the plaintiffs, in open court excepted, and, in open court, gave notice of appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals in and for the Third Supreme Judicial District of Texas, sitting at Austin, Texas.”

The appellees take the position that the case is moot and should be dismissed; that the order finding the project feasible is not a final order and that further proceedings are required before appellants will have such a justiciable interest as to authorize the maintenance of a cause of action against the Commission.

Since the provision of Article 7472e, V.A.C.S., has been complied with, the Federal Agency has recommended the project and has submitted such to the Governor who has forwarded such recommendations to the Texas Water Commission for a hearing.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Texas Attorney General Reports, 2010
Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Brazoria County
742 S.W.2d 43 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)
Lipsey v. Texas Department of Health
727 S.W.2d 61 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)
Opinion No.
Texas Attorney General Reports, 1980
Mahon v. Vandygriff
578 S.W.2d 144 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)
Newsom v. Adams
451 S.W.2d 948 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1970)
Texas Oyster Growers Association v. Odom
385 S.W.2d 899 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1965)
Moody v. Texas Water Commission
373 S.W.2d 793 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
373 S.W.2d 793, 1963 Tex. App. LEXIS 1892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moody-v-texas-water-commission-texapp-1963.