Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund v. White Deer Indep. Sch. Dist. (In re Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund)

598 B.R. 570
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 1, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. SA-18-CV-985-XR; Bkr. Adv. Case No. SA-18-5017-RBK
StatusPublished

This text of 598 B.R. 570 (Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund v. White Deer Indep. Sch. Dist. (In re Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund v. White Deer Indep. Sch. Dist. (In re Tex. Ass'n of Pub. Sch. Prop. & Liab. Fund), 598 B.R. 570 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

XAVIER RODRIGUEZ, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This civil action is before the Court on appeal from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. For the reasons stated below, the judgment of the bankruptcy court is REVERSED.

BACKGROUND

This case comes before the Court on appeal from two orders of the bankruptcy court regarding the parties' respective motions for summary judgment. Texas Association of Public Schools Property and Liability Fund ("TAPS") appeals the following orders of the Bankruptcy Court: (1) the order denying TAPS's Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 3 at 7); and (2) the order granting White Deer Independent School District's ("White Deer") Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 3 at 11).

This case stems from TAPS' choice not to defend or indemnify White Deer in a state-court tax suit. In that tax suit, Kelly Martin v. White Deer Independent School District , Cause No. 11807, Judicial District Court for Carson County, Texas ("Tax Suit"), Kelly Martin sued White Deer, alleging that it improperly applied tax laws and charged her excessive taxes.

The Tax Suit turned on changes to Texas's homestead exemption for property taxes. Before 2015, the first $ 15,000 of a homestead's value was tax exempt under Texas law, and local governments could reduce this exemption using a Local Option Home Exemption ("LOHE"). On June 15, 2015, the governor signed S.B. 1, which raised the exemption to $ 25,000 and barred local governments from reducing or repealing any LOHE until 2019. This change required approval by constitutional amendment. On June 30, 2015, White Deer lowered its 2014 LOHE. Then, in November 2015, S.B. 1 was approved by constitutional amendment. Meanwhile, White Deer *574collected Martin's taxes under the reduced LOHE (which was lawful when enacted), prompting Martin to bring the Tax Suit in 2016.

Martin sued White Deer, its board of trustees, its superintendent, and the county tax assessor. Docket no. 3 at 96. She alleged the defendants acted illegally in reducing the LOHE and then collecting higher taxes. Id. at 103. She thus sought declaratory relief that these actions were ultra vires and violated the Texas Constitution, a permanent injunction to reinstate White Deer's 2014 LOHE, and a "refund of illegally collected taxes which [Martin] paid to the school district as a result of duress."Id. at 97. At summary judgment in that case, White Deer argued that Martin's requested declaratory relief was barred by its governmental immunity against suits for money damages. Id. at 394. Martin denied that she sought money damages, contending that she demanded "only a refund of illegally collected taxes paid under duress," which are not " 'money damages' precluded by governmental or official immunity." Id. at 415.

In April 2018, the state court dismissed the individual defendants and granted summary judgment in Martin's favor. Id. at 429. Martin was granted declaratory relief that S.B. 1 was constitutional and prohibited repealing or barring the LOHE between 2015 and 2019, that White Deer violated S.B. 1, and that White Deer's reduction of the LOHE was void. Id. at 430. The state court ordered that White Deer "disgorge and refund to [Martin] those property taxes that it collected for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017 from [Martin], if any, that are subject to the [LOHE] that it adopted for the 2014 tax year." Id. at 430-31. The pending appeal of the Tax Suit was filed May 7, 2018. Id. at 432.

TAPS is a self-funded risk program from which White Deer had previously purchased a policy; the section of this policy at issue here is titled "Educators' Legal Liability Cover." In response to the Tax Suit, White Deer submitted a claim to TAPS under this policy for defense and indemnification of the Tax Suit. On October 7, 2016, TAPS denied coverage. White Deer then brought this suit in state court, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on the duties to defend and indemnify and damages for breach of contract and violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. TAPS removed to federal court and the case was transferred to bankruptcy court.1 There, the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment; the bankruptcy court granted White Deer's motion and denied TAPS' motion. TAPS then appealed these orders to this Court.

DISCUSSION

I. Appellant's Issues on Appeal

TAPS's issues on appeal are:

(1) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting White Deer's motion for summary judgment and denying TAPS's motion.
(2) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting summary judgment that TAPS owed White Deer a duty to defend the underlying suit.
(3) Whether any duty to indemnify White Deer is nonjusticiable because the issue is premature until the underlying judgment is final and the appeal is exhausted.
*575(4) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting summary judgment that TAPS owed White Deer a duty to indemnify Whiter Deer for any part of the judgment in the underlying suit.
(5) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in failing to grant summary judgment dismissing White Deer's claims for declaratory relief, injunctive relief, breach of contract, and attorney's fees.
(6) Whether TAPS may contest coverage only upon the grounds identified by its letter denying coverage.
(7) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting summary judgment that White Deer recover attorney's fees.
(8) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in failing to grant summary judgment dismissing White Deer's DTPA claims.

Docket no. 6 at 14.

Although TAPS lists eight issues on appeal, the base issue is whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting White Deer's Motion for Summary Judgment and denying TAPS's Motion for Summary Judgment. Accounting for redundancy in the above issues, the Court must consider the following questions to decide this appeal:

(1) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting summary judgment that TAPS owed White Deer a duty to defend the underlying Tax Suit.
(2) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting summary judgment that TAPS owed White Deer a duty to indemnify White Deer for any part of the judgment in the underlying suit.
(3) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in denying TAPS' no-evidence summary judgment motion on White Deer's DTPA claims.
(4) Whether the bankruptcy court erred in granting White Deer's summary judgment motion for attorney's fees.

II. Appellate Standard of Review

A district court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from final judgments, orders, and decrees of bankruptcy judges entered in cases and proceedings referred to bankruptcy judges. See 28 U.S.C. § 158(a).

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Bluebook (online)
598 B.R. 570, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tex-assn-of-pub-sch-prop-liab-fund-v-white-deer-indep-sch-dist-txwd-2019.