Latest Case This Week: Carowest Land, Ltd. v. City of New Braunfels, Texas (Tex.)

In (Trial) Courts (Especially) We Trust

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR, JASON MAZZONE

Illinois law dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone describe the increasing importance of courts and lawyers in safeguarding and reinforcing the role of factual truths in our democracy. Dean Amar and Professor Mazzone point out that lawyers and judges are steeped in factual investigation and factual determination, and they call upon legal educators (like themselves) to continue instilling in students the commitment to analytical reasoning based in factual evidence, and to absolutely reject the notion that factual truth is just in the mind of the beholder.

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The Rhetoric About a “Decline” in Religious Liberty Is Good News for Americans

MARCI A. HAMILTON

Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the country’s leading church-state scholars, explains why the rhetoric about a “decline” in religious liberty actually signals a decline in religious triumphalism, and is a good thing. Professor Hamilton describes how religious actors wield the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) not as a shield, but as a sword to destroy the lives of fellow Americans.

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Carowest Land, Ltd. v. City of New Braunfels, Texas

Court: Supreme Court of Texas

Docket: 18-0678

Opinion Date: November 20, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Government Contracts

In this infrastructure development dispute, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the court of appeals concluding that the Legislature had not waived immunity for Plaintiff's declaratory relief claims against the City of New Braunfels, holding that because Plaintiff relied on the court of appeals' holding in a previous appeal that declaratory relief was available and the Open Meeting Act and Tex. Local Gov't Code chapter 252 afforded alternative relief to consider, remand was required in the interest of justice. Plaintiff sued the City seeking declaratory relief for violations of the Open Meetings Act and the contract-bidding provisions of chapter 252. The trial court denied the City's jurisdictional plea based on governmental immunity, and the court of appeals affirmed, permitting Plaintiff's claims to proceed. Plaintiff prevailed at an ensuing trial, and the trial court awarded declaratory relief. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the City was immune. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case, holding that this was a compelling case requiring a remand in the interest of justice.