FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Monette Smith
PR LUXURY MEDIA – Marketing & Public Relations
281-419-4471
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TEXAS – On March 27th, 2020, The Texas Supreme Court delivered a huge victory for Montgomery County by striking down the frivolous claims that SJRA (San Jacinto River Authority) made in Travis County. SJRA filed that suit under an obscure statute designed to prevent multiple lawsuits from holding up the issuance of bonds. That statute allowed SJRA to file in Montgomery or Travis County. SJRA chose not to face the citizens of Montgomery County, thus filing the suit in Travis County.
The City of Conroe and other local cities, along with several water utilities, asked the Supreme Court to tell SJRA that it could not monopolize the statute in that way. The Supreme Court agreed with Conroe, maintaining that the great bulk of SJRA’s suit could not remain in the Travis County lawsuit. In fact, the only claim left was the half-billion dollars in bonds issued by SJRA that were executed by somebody at SJRA who had the authority to do so, but was never disputed by Conroe or the other parties.
This has been an arduous battle that should never have occurred in the first place. Since SJRA is an appointed board, with no accountability, the General Manager Jace Houston is permitted to file frivolous lawsuits against people in Montgomery County. In fact, after SJRA lost at the Supreme Court in the morning of March 27th, SJRA admitted its defeat by filing many of the same claims in the 284th District Court in Conroe that same afternoon. So, while residents in Montgomery County were preparing for a stay at home order issued by County Judge Mark Keough, SJRA was preparing yet another lawsuit against the citizens. This represents an enduring contempt of the SJRA who squabbles that the cost of water keeps increasing because of all the costly litigation.
It’s time for Jace Houston to resign as General Manager of the SJRA, so a fair-minded leader who cares more about the people he serves, can provide the proper