Bland Independent School District v. Blue
- Court
- Texas Supreme Court
- Decided
- December 7, 2000
- Docket
- 99-0231
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
Cited 3,565 timesOverruled on other grounds (verified)Overruled on other grounds (verified) · 2020 Long Tail Trail Investments, LLC v. State of Texas, Attorney General Kenneth Paxton (In His Official Capacity), Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Kelly Hancock (In His Official Capacity), and the Office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
What later courts said
- holding that the trial court must consider relevant evidence submitted by the parties when necessary to resolve the jurisdictional issues raised — State v. Lueck (2009)
- holding that trial court is required to consider relevant evidence in support of plea to jurisdiction — Texas Department of Mental Health & Mental Retardation v. Lee (2001)
- recognizing that courts should not “delv[e] into the merits of the case” beyond the extent necessary to determine jurisdiction — Gattis v. Duty (2011)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Justice HECHT delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justice OWEN, Justice BAKER, Justice ABBOTT, Justice O’NEILL, and Justice GONZALES joined.
Two taxpayers sued their school district to prohibit it from paying future installments due on a lease-purchase financing agreement they claim is illegal. The district filed a plea to the jurisdiction, challenging the taxpayers’ standing to sue. The trial court heard evidence on the plea and sustained it in part but overruled it in part. On the district’s interlocutory appeal, the court of appeals held that a ruling on a plea to the jurisdiction must be based solely on allegations in the plaintiffs pleadings unless the defendant asserts that those allegations have been fabricated in an attempt to confer jurisdiction where none exists.[1] Based on the pleadings, the court held that the taxpayers have standing to sue.[2] We disagree with both holdings, reverse the court of appeals’ judgment, and dismiss the plaintiffs’ action against the district for want of jurisdiction.
I
Cite this
Bland Independent School District v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547 (2000)Read the full opinion
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