Robert Edward Battaile v. Texas Elections Division, Hon. Jane Nelson; Texas Secretary of State; Jeffrey Travillion, Travis County Commissioner

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 12, 2025·No. 15-25-00142-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED

15-25-00142-CV

FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS

Cause No. 15-25-00142-CV 10/13/2025 12:00 AM CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE

CLERK

IN THE FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS AUSTIN, TEXAS FILED IN

15th COURT OF APPEALS

AUSTIN, TEXAS

ROBERT EDWARD BATTAILE, Appellant, 10/12/2025 10:34:17 PM

CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE

Clerk

v.

KEN PAXTON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS; JANE NELSON, SECRETARY OF STATE OF TEXAS; AND REAL PARTIES IN INTEREST, Appellees, et al.

From the 459th Judicial District Court of Travis County, Texas Trial Cause No. D-1-GN-25-000719

APPELLATE BRIEF ON THE MERITS — ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED

TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICES OF THE FIFTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS: Appellant Robert Edward Battaile, pro se, files this Appellate Brief on the Merits and states his intent to appear personally and present oral argument at the time and place designated by the Court. This brief consolidates all arguments and authorities supporting relief in Cause No. 15-25-00142-CV and serves as both written brief and outline for oral presentation.

PRELUDE: THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE RECORD This case is more than pleadings and citations. It is about the quiet capture of a small Texas town — a modern fiefdom where public money follows private command, where developers and their padrones whisper orders to city staff, and where those staff instruct the City Council how to vote. The same names and families rotate through boards, contracts, and campaign committees, while the people of Manor are left with broken parks, demolished history, and promises that never reach the ground. For decades, citizens have been told to stay silent. Those who question the deals or ask for records are ridiculed, banned, or jailed. White pawns were replaced by Black and Brown pawns, but the board never changed — only the faces moving under the same thumb. The result is a government too frightened or too compromised to spend a single dollar on preserving its heritage or building spaces of pride. The State of Texas looks away. Travis County props the system up with selective enforcement and hollow oversight. The Attorney General and Secretary of State ignore election fraud, civil-rights violations, and horrific jail conditions. Citizens who speak out face retaliation. Yet the bulldozers keep moving and the record remains blank. This brief asks for something simple and profound — for law to mean something again in small-town Texas. It asks the Court to look past procedural smoke and see the moral truth: when government becomes a marketplace, parks are empty while history is erased and cemeteries desecrated; jails are a sub-human kennel whether innocent or guilty; and justice is a court of no record... someone must stand up. That is why this case exists — and why it matters.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prelude ….......................................................................................... 1 Identity of Parties and Counsel …..................................................... 4 Table of Authorities .......................................................................... 5 Statement of Jurisdiction ................................................................... 5 Issues Presented ................................................................................ 6 Statement of the Case and Facts ....................................................... 6 Summary of the Argument ............................................................... 7 Standard of Review .......................................................................... 7 Argument .......................................................................................... 8 I. Ministerial Election-Oversight Duties ...................................... 8 II. Irreparable Heritage Harm & Temporary Relief ..................... 8 III. Preserve Jury Rights on Independent Claims ......................... 8 IV. Structural Remedies & Record Integrity ................................ 9 V. Constitutional Baselines .......................................................... 9 Request for Oral Argument …......................................................... 9

Request to include Appellant's public video publishing ….............. 10 Prayer for Relief ............................................................................... 10

IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL Appellant: Robert Edward Battaile, pro se 502 E. Eggleston St., Unit B Manor, Texas 78653 Phone: 512-662-2955 Email: robert@manortx.us Appellees: Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas Jane Nelson, Secretary of State of Texas Represented by the Office of the Attorney General 300 W. 15th Street Austin, Texas 78701 Real Parties in Interest (including dismissed defendants from underlying case, served via eFile for notice of ongoing claims): State of Texas; City of Manor, Texas (dismissed, but harms persist via successors); Travis County; Freese and Nichols (dismissed, but Comprehensive Plan misuse continues); Legacy Performance Capital, LLC (dismissed without prejudice); Manor MF LLC; Las Entradas; Monarch Ranch; MC Retail GP, LLC; 13100 FM 973, Inc.; CapMetro; Carlos Moyeda; Dyana Limon-Mercado, Travis County Clerk; Jeff Travillion, Travis County Commissioner; Brigid Shea, Travis County Commissioner; Ann Howard, Travis County Commissioner; Margaret Gómez, Travis County Commissioner; Matt Woodard, City of Manor Public Works Director; Sally Hernandez, Travis County Sheriff; and others implicated in ultra vires acts, election coercion, historic desecration, or civil rights violations, as detailed in the Second Amended Petition (CR [placeholder for Clerk's Record pages, e.g., 100-280]). Counsel for Appellees and Active Real Parties: Office of the Attorney General (for Paxton and Nelson) Travis County Attorney's Office (for Travis County entities) Other counsel for dismissed parties. Bobby Ray Reese (real party in interest) and Austin Bocce League (real party in interest).

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases City of El Paso v. Heinrich, 284 S.W.3d 366 (Tex. 2009) City of San Antonio v. Kaur, 574 S.W.3d 595 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2019, no pet.) In re Hotze, 627 S.W.3d 642 (Tex. 2020) Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833 (Tex. 1992) Statutes / Rules Tex. Const. art. I (Open Courts; Due Course) Tex. Elec. Code §§ 31.003, 273.001, 273.021, 232.012 Tex. Gov’t Code §§ 22.220, 22.221 Tex. Health & Safety Code § 711.010 Tex. R. App. P. 9.4, 9.5, 52; Tex. R. Civ. P. 171

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION This Court has jurisdiction under Tex. Gov’t Code §§ 22.220 and 22.221 and Tex. R. App. P. 52.3(e). Because Appellees are statewide officers and Appellant seeks relief of statewide importance arising from Travis County proceedings, this Court properly exercises jurisdiction.

ISSUES PRESENTED 1.Whether the Secretary of State and Attorney General failed to perform ministerial duties under the Election Code.

2.Whether temporary injunctive relief is needed to preserve the 1906 Martin McVey Cemetery and the James B. Manor Homestead.

3.Whether Appellant’s constitutional and civil-rights claims must be preserved for jury trial.

4.Whether persistent procedural failures justify appointment of a Special Master and record-integrity orders.

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Robert Edward Battaile v. Texas Elections Division, Hon. Jane Nelson; Texas Secretary of State; Jeffrey Travillion, Travis County Commissioner, (Tex. Ct. App. 2025).

Robert Edward Battaile v. Texas Elections Division, Hon. Jane Nelson; Texas Secretary of State; Jeffrey Travillion, Travis County Commissioner (Robert Edward Battaile v. Texas Elections Division, Hon. Jane Nelson; Texas Secretary of State; Jeffrey Travillion, Travis County Commissioner) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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284 S.W.3d 366 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
Walker v. Packer
827 S.W.2d 833 (Texas Supreme Court, 1992)