Federal Court Enters Agreed Preliminary Injunction in Bracketville Animal Control Ordinance Lawsuit

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

United States District Judge Alia Moses for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas signed and entered the Agreed Preliminary Injunction agreed between the Brackettville Animal Lovers Association and the City of Brackettville, Texas and Mayor Andres Rodriguez on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in the lawsuit filed by the non-profit association on behalf of its members, animal and livestock owners, real property owners, and citizens challenging the legality and constitutionality of the controversial Animal Control Ordinance approved by the Brackettville City Council on December 9, 2014 and subsequently amended on March 19, 2015, which prohibited having possession of livestock in one boundary area of the corporate city limits while allowing livestock in a different boundary area within the city.

The Agreed Preliminary Injunction provides that the disputed December 9, 2014 and March 19, 2015 Animal Control Ordinances approved by the Brackettville City Council will not be enforced until a final judgment in the federal lawsuit is rendered. However, the parties’ agreed that the City of Brackettville will enforce the previously repealed May 13, 2007 Animal Control Ordinance, which allows the possession of livestock within the corporate city limits without any boundary areas, with five modifications until a final judgment is entered in the pending federal lawsuit. The Agreed Preliminary Injunction is applicable and beneficial to all citizens, residents, and persons within the city limits of Brackettville, Texas.

AGREED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

            After considering Plaintiff BRACKETTVILLE ANIMAL LOVERS ASSOCIATION (“BALA”) and Defendants CITY OF BRACKETTVILLE, TEXAS (“City”) and MAYOR ANDRES RODRIGUEZ (“Mayor Rodriguez”) (collectively referred to as “Parties”) representations to the Court on May 12, 2015 regarding a Joint Motion on Preliminary Injunctive Relief, and the Parties’ Advisory to the Court on June 9, 2015, the Court hereby GRANTS the following Agreed Preliminary Injunction:

IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the Parties agree to the following:

1. The Parties agree to temporarily abide by the Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC, Amended May 13, 2007, attached as Exhibit A, and agree enforcement shall ensue under such ordinance including enforcement in Municipal Court, of the Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC, Amended May 13, 2007 with a modified (a) Local Health Authority provision providing for enforcement also by the Police Chief; (b) water supply to include daily water change and/or piped water supply; (c) livestock/fowl distance requirement of 50 feet from a neighbor’s residence, a modified (d) Manure provision clarifying disposal at the local Citizen’s Collection Site is not available but, if a citizen does not have the ability to dispose of the manure properly and lawfully, then a citizen shall call and request a work order no later than 4:00 p.m. Thursday for Friday pickup and manure must be separate from household trash, and a modified (e) swine exclusion that requires the leased property by the Kinney County Junior Livestock Show (KCJLS) to be located at Lots 8, 9, 10, Block 72 and the designation of that property as the sole location authorized for students who are members of the Kinney County Youth Development Association and/or the Brackettville Independent School District Livestock Projects to keep and maintain swine under the Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC, as amended May 13, 2007, by the City of Brackettville;
2. The City and its employees, and City Prosecutor are temporarily enjoined from enforcing any provision of the disputed City’s Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC as Amended on December 9, 2014 and March 19, 2015 to Plaintiff BALA and any of its individual members, animal and livestock owner, real property owner, person, resident, and citizen of the City of Brackettville, Kinney County, Texas;
3. The City and its employees are temporarily enjoined from issuing Citations for alleged violations of the disputed City’s Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC as Amended on December 9, 2014 and Amended March 19, 2015 to Plaintiff BALA and any of its individual members, animal and livestock owner, real property owner, person, resident, and citizen of the City of Brackettville, Kinney County, Texas;
4. Defendants are enjoined from destroying, amending, changing, creating, mutilating, correcting, tampering with, and disappearing of any and all documents, records, electronic records, digital records, telephone messages, telephone records, emails, text messages, correspondence, drafts, notes, memorandums, audio recordings, and videos of the City of Brackettville, Texas, Mayor Andres Rodriguez, City Council members, City Administrator and City Supervisors, Officers, Designees, Employees, Representatives, Agents, Attorneys, and persons regarding the consideration, discussion, and approval of the City of Brackettville, Texas Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC as Amended on December 9, 2014 from January 1, 2014 to the present; however, this does not impair the City Council’s legislative functions by enacting ordinances including any amendments to the Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC, Amended December 9, 2014, and March 19, 2015; and
5. The City of Brackettville, Texas, its public officials and its employees are enjoined from intimidating, harassing, threatening, stalking, retaliating and/or taking any other unlawful act and/or conduct against Plaintiff BALA, and any of its individual members, family members, relatives, friends, agents, attorneys, or representatives for filing this lawsuit and exercising their United States and Texas Constitutional Rights to challenge the legality, constitutionality, and validity of the City of Brackettville, Texas Animal Control Ordinance 2001-09-01-AC as Amended on December 9, 2014 and March 19, 2015. However, enforcement under paragraph 1 of this Agreed Preliminary Injunction shall not be deemed a violation of this paragraph 5.
6. The parties agree that they are entering into an Agreed Preliminary Injunction and it does not waive any defenses and/or legal claims in this cause.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that this AGREED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION shall remain in full force and effect until final judgment is rendered by the Court in this cause.

This Order shall become effective immediately upon signing by the Court and the Parties have agreed to waive a bond of Plaintiff for this Agreed Preliminary Injunction.

The clerk shall forthwith issue an AGREED PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION in conformity with the law and terms of this Order.

SIGNED on this 9th day of June, 2015.

            Alia Moses

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE