Old Farms Owners Ass'n v. Houston Independent School District

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that the 2001 amendments to Texas Tax Code section 33.04 did not apply to a delinquent-tax collection suit originally filed before the amendments, even though the suit was later nonsuited and refiled. Because the taxing units failed to provide the required five-year delinquency notice under the former statute, penalties and interest on the delinquent taxes were waived. The court reversed the court of appeals and reinstated the trial court’s judgment.

Holdings

1. The 2001 amendments to Texas Tax Code section 33.04 did not apply to the delinquent taxes because they had been the subject of a collection suit filed before the amendments' effective date, even though that suit was later nonsuited and the action was refiled after the amendments.
2. Penalties and interest on the 1997 property taxes were waived because the taxing units failed to deliver the five-year delinquency notice required by former section 33.04.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the 2001 amendments to Texas Tax Code section 33.04 applied to delinquent taxes that were the subject of a collection suit filed in 1999, later nonsuited, and refiled in 2002.
2. Whether the savings clause in the 2001 legislation preserved the former penalty-and-interest waiver provisions for that case.

Disposition

reversed