Snider Plaza Alliance v. the City of University Park, Patrick Baugh, in His Official Capacity as Director of Community Development, and James E. Strode

Opinion

Dismiss and Opinion Filed September 27, 2022

In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-22-00011-CV

SNIDER PLAZA ALLIANCE, Appellant V. THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, PATRICK BAUGH, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND JAMES E. STRODE, Appellees

On Appeal from the 160th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-21-14812

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Chief Justice Burns, Justice Molberg, and Justice Pedersen, III Opinion by Justice Molberg At issue in this appeal is whether Snider Plaza Alliance had standing to bring

the underlying suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from City of University

Park Ordinance No. 21-027. Asserting the ordinance has been repealed in full,

appellees have filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as moot.1

Mootness can occur at any stage of the proceedings, including the appeal. In

re Contract Freighters, Inc., 646 S.W.3d 810, 813 (Tex. 2022) (quoting In re

1 The motion was filed September 6, 2022. To date, Snider Plaza Alliance has not filed a response. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., 166 S.W.3d 732, 737 (Tex. 2005)). A case becomes

moot when the controversy between the parties ceases to exist. Id. Once a

controversy ceases to exist, a court cannot affect the parties’ rights or interests and

is prohibited from deciding the case. See Heckman v. Williamson Cty., 369 S.W.3d

137, 162 (Tex. 2012).

Attached to appellees’ motion is a copy of the ordinance that repealed

Ordinance No. 21-027. Because Ordinance No. 21-027 has been repealed, no live

controversy remains between the parties in this appeal. See In re Contract

Freighters, 646 S.W.3d at 813; see also Trulock v. City of Duncanville, 277 S.W.3d

920, 927-28 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, no pet.) (appeal challenging constitutionality

of ordinance became moot when ordinance repealed). Accordingly, we grant

appellees’ motion and dismiss the appeal.

/Ken Molberg// 220011f.p05 KEN MOLBERG JUSTICE

–2– Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas JUDGMENT

SNIDER PLAZA ALLIANCE, On Appeal from the 160th Judicial Appellant District Court, Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. DC-21-14812. No. 05-22-00011-CV V. Opinion delivered by Justice Molberg, Chief Justice Burns and THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY Justice Pedersen, III participating. PARK, PATRICK BAUGH, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND JAMES E. STRODE, Appellees

In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, we DISMISS the appeal.

We ORDER that appellees The City of University Park, Patrick Baugh, in his Official Capacity as Director of Community Development, and James E. Strode recover their costs of this appeal from appellant Snider Plaza Alliance.

Judgment entered this 27th day of September 2022.

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