Maverick County Taxpayer to Petition for Rehearing of Fourth Court of Appeals’ Flawed Decision Denying the Right to a Rollback Election

(PRESS RELEASE) EAGLE PASS, TEX.—On April 11, 2017, the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio issued its decision in the lawsuit between Maverick County taxpayer Ethelvina Felan and County officials, in which Felan seeks to secure a rollback election that would result in the reimbursement to taxpayers of the tax they paid for 2016 which the County admits was erroneously calculated.

Unfortunately, a three-judge panel of the Court reversed the trial court’s order for a rollback election, and dismissed the case.  Felan’s attorney, Jerad Najvar, released the following statement:

“The County Judge’s celebration today is premature.  The appellate court’s decision is superficial and unpersuasive. It applies the wrong legal standard, and fails to address Felan’s basic arguments. The decision also relies on factual errors.  For one, the Court’s decision is premised on the claim that the Maverick County Tax Assessor never re-calculated the rollback rate for 2016 with the sales tax included. But Felan provided the Court with the copy of the re-calculated rollback worksheet, which came straight from the Tax Assessor’s office, and Felan proved that this re-calculation was performed only four days after the Commissioners’ September 12 meeting adopting the initial tax rate. While this worksheet is not even necessary to the case—because the rollback rate is determined by a statutory formula, not a worksheet or Commissioners’ Court’s approval—it nonetheless reveals that the Court’s opinion is flawed even according to its own rationale.  The Tax Assessor did, in fact, recalculate the rate.”

Felan will ask the entire Fourth Court of Appeals to rehear the case en banc.  

The case is Maverick County, et al. v. Felan, No. 04-17-00393-CV (Tex. App.—San Antonio).