Roberts v. Brownsboro Independent School District

575 S.W.2d 371, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 4045
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 14, 1978
DocketNo. 1227
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 575 S.W.2d 371 (Roberts v. Brownsboro Independent School District) 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
Roberts v. Brownsboro Independent School District, 575 S.W.2d 371, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 4045 (Tex. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

MOORE, Justice.

Appellants, A. B. Roberts and other taxpaying citizens brought suit in the form of a declaratory judgment action against ap-pellees, Brownsboro Independent School District and its trustees, seeking a judgment declaring that an order passed by the [372]*372district calling a school bond election was void. Appellants allege that the order calling the election was void because the notices posted by the district notifying the public of the meeting at which the bond election was ordered did not notify the public that the calling of a bond election would be considered at the meeting and therefore the order was void because the same was passed in violation of the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law, Article 6252-17, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann., sec. SAia).1 The School District answered with a Plea in Abatement alleging that appellants’ suit amounted to an attack on the validity of the bond election and as such amounted to an election contest under the provisions of Article 9.01, et seq., of the Texas Election Code, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. The District further alleged that appellants failed to give notice of their intention to contest the election within the 30-day period prescribed by Article 9.03 of the Texas Election Code2, and therefore the court had no jurisdiction to determine the election contest. After a hearing, the trial court sustained the District’s Plea in Abatement and dismissed appellants’ suit. From such ruling and judgment, appellants perfected this appeal.

We affirm.

The record shows that the notices posted by the District notifying the public of the subject matter on the agenda for the meeting at which the bond election was called were as follows:

“Discussion with Larry Claycomb, architect, and Noel Johnson, Bond Consultant.”

At the meeting which was subsequently held on February 2, 1978, the School Board passed the following resolution:

“That a school bond election in the amount of Two Million Dollars be held on March 4, 1978. (Order attached.)”

The election was held on March 4, 1978, and on March 6, 1978, the School Board certified the results of the election and ordered that the bonds be issued and sold. Thereafter, appellants filed the present suit on April 21, 1978, some six weeks after the results of the election had been declared.

The cause was submitted to the trial court upon the following stipulation of facts:

“MR. JACKSON: Your Honor, if we may, I would like to make an attempt to state a stipulation, with the understanding that Mr. Moore may want to add to it or disagree with certain portions of it. Come now the parties and by and through their attorneys of record and for the purpose on the hearing of the defendants’ Plea to the Jurisdiction or Plea in Abatement, for the purpose he waives hearing evidence. On January 23, the Board of Trustees of the Brownsboro Independent School District caused to be posted, both at the school administration building and through the County Clerk’s office, notice of a meeting of that Board of Trustees to be held on February 2, 1978. The meeting of February 2 was held in accordance with the posted notices, and in that meeting of February 2, 1978 the following resolution was adopted:
‘That a school bond election, in the amount of two million dollars be held on March 4, 1978. (Order attached.)’ The approved minutes reciting: ‘Motion by Tom Crow, seconded by Billy Dingier, that a school bond election in the amount of $2,000,000 be held on March 4, 1978. (Order attached). Motion carried by all.’
[373]*373“The bond election was duly called on March 4, 1978 and the Board of Trustees of the Brownsboro Independent School District, in open meeting on March 6, canvassed the results of that election. The officials certified the results of the election as the bond having been approved.
“Plaintiffs’ Original Petition in this cause was filed on April 21,1978, alleging with respect to the matters before the Court, in this hearing, the facts of the notice of January 23, 1978 and the action of the Board at its meeting on February 2, 1978, and asking that the Court determine that all actions taken by the Board with respect to, specifically for this hearing, with respect to the bond election, be declared null and void and of no force and effect whatsoever, for the reason that the notice, posted on or about January 23, 1978 of the meeting of February 2, 1978⅜ was wholly insufficient, within the meaning of Article 6252-17, the Texas Open Meeting Law.
“It is further stipulated that Plaintiffs’ Original Petition filed on April 21, 1978, was the first and is the only written notice given or delivered by plaintiffs or any one of them or any one for them, in their intention to contest the bond election of March 4, 1978, and was the first and only written statement of the grounds for such contest.
“It is further stipulated that there are no irregularities alleged by plaintiffs with respect to the bond election of March 4, other than the non-compliance with the Open Meeting Law, Article 6252-17, by the failure of the defendants to include in the posted notice, the action of calling a bond election.
“It is further stipulated that plaintiffs and all of them did in fact know of the bond election and of the date of the canvass of the return of the results of that election; that there was no written notice, within thirty days of the Board’s return of the result of that election, of their intent to contest the election or the grounds of any such contest. I believe that is the stipulation as I would see it.
“BY THE COURT: Mr. Moore, can you stipulate those facts or do you care to add to them or delete them?
“MR. MOORE: Your Honor, I only have one small disagreement with the Statement of Facts and that was a statement that the election was duly held. If that includes the election order was signed or passed at a meeting, which was a legal meeting, I object to that. That’s the principal of the lawsuit, that the election order is void, for the reason that it was passed at a meeting at which no adequate notice was given.
“MR. JACKSON: Your Honor, as I understand what Mr. Moore is saying, I think I have no disagreement with it. The sole issue before this Court, as I understand it, raised by plaintiffs with respect to this bond election, is that the election was called at meeting for which there had not been sufficient notice given, in accordance with Article 6252-17 of the action taken by the Board in calling that bond election.
“MR. MOORE: That’s correct, Your Honor.”

By a single point of error appellants contend that the trial court erred in ruling that it was without jurisdiction to determine whether the order calling the bond election was void and to declare such election null and void, because the suit filed by appellants does not constitute an election contest. In this connection, appellants take the position that an election contest is strictly limited to the grounds contained in Chapter 9 of the Texas Election Code, such as fraud and other irregularities taking place on the day of election. Therefore they argue that since their suit does not challenge the validity of the election on those grounds, their suit does not amount to an election contest.

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Bluebook (online)
575 S.W.2d 371, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 4045, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-brownsboro-independent-school-district-texapp-1978.