STR Update
March 10, 2025 11:15 Filed in: short-term rentals
I represent the property owners in many lawsuits around the state seeking to protect people's right to rent homes for short terms. The cities include New Braunfels, Grapevine, Fort Worth, Dickinson, Volente, and Waxahachie. There's also a suit in Dallas. Here's an update . . .
In the Dallas case, the Dallas Court of Appeals recently upheld a temporary injunction preventing the City of Dallas from enforcing its ordinance while the case heads towards final trial. In so doing, the Dallas Court of Appeals cited approvingly a case I argued in 2019, City of Grapevine v. Muns, in which the Fort Worth Court of Appeals recognized a fundamental right to lease.
In a case where I represent 120 owners against the City of Fort Worth, the judge there has granted summary judgment to the City of Fort Worth, meaning the owners will lose the case once some other details are addressed.
In Dickinson, the case is the first to reach a court of appeals after a final judgment. My clients won that case at trial, and we're waiting on the City of Dickinson to file its last appeal brief. I expect the case to be argued live in the Houston Court of Appeals in the Spring, probably in May or thereabouts.
The Village of Volente case is set to be decided any day now on motions for summary judgment in federal court in Austin. That case will go up on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
In a different federal suit in the Western District of Texas, my clients in New Braunfels lost at trial. That case is now in the Fifth Circuit and being briefed. I anticipate live argument in New Orleans late in the Summer of 2025.
Finally, in Waxahachie, the Dallas federal judge deciding motions has yet to rule on my clients' motion for a preliminary injunction, which was filed last October. Nor has that judge decided Waxahachie's motion to dismiss the case based on the City's position that it doesn't even state a valid legal claim. But since the Dallas Court of Appeals has just affirmed a similar injunction in the Dallas case, one would think that a Dallas federal judge would look to that precedent.
I recently settled a case involved the City of Hollywood Park (near San Antonio) after my clients obtained a preliminary injunction. My clients settled on the basis that they have a 20-year period to continue leasing for short terms.
I haven't been contacted so far in 2025 by residents of other cities. It seems to me that cities are slow-walking bans on STR's right now because it's clear they'll be sued. Lots of people want to see how the cases I've listed above play out. It seems clear that we're going to have some conflicting decisions, which means we're likely to see a couple cases go up to the Texas Supreme Court in late 2025 or in 2026.
In a case where I represent 120 owners against the City of Fort Worth, the judge there has granted summary judgment to the City of Fort Worth, meaning the owners will lose the case once some other details are addressed.
In Dickinson, the case is the first to reach a court of appeals after a final judgment. My clients won that case at trial, and we're waiting on the City of Dickinson to file its last appeal brief. I expect the case to be argued live in the Houston Court of Appeals in the Spring, probably in May or thereabouts.
The Village of Volente case is set to be decided any day now on motions for summary judgment in federal court in Austin. That case will go up on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
In a different federal suit in the Western District of Texas, my clients in New Braunfels lost at trial. That case is now in the Fifth Circuit and being briefed. I anticipate live argument in New Orleans late in the Summer of 2025.
Finally, in Waxahachie, the Dallas federal judge deciding motions has yet to rule on my clients' motion for a preliminary injunction, which was filed last October. Nor has that judge decided Waxahachie's motion to dismiss the case based on the City's position that it doesn't even state a valid legal claim. But since the Dallas Court of Appeals has just affirmed a similar injunction in the Dallas case, one would think that a Dallas federal judge would look to that precedent.
I recently settled a case involved the City of Hollywood Park (near San Antonio) after my clients obtained a preliminary injunction. My clients settled on the basis that they have a 20-year period to continue leasing for short terms.
I haven't been contacted so far in 2025 by residents of other cities. It seems to me that cities are slow-walking bans on STR's right now because it's clear they'll be sued. Lots of people want to see how the cases I've listed above play out. It seems clear that we're going to have some conflicting decisions, which means we're likely to see a couple cases go up to the Texas Supreme Court in late 2025 or in 2026.