Parker County Appraisal District v. Bosque Disposal Systems, LLC, Agnus SWD Services, L.P., Gordon SWD Services, L.P., and Bob Phillips D/B/A Phillips Water Hauling, 506 S.W.3d 665

Owners (four landowners) each have subsurface commercial saltwater disposal wells located beneath their fee-simple tracts in Parker County, Texas.
Parker County Appraisal District (PCAD) separately appraised and taxed the income-producing right to inject (the wells) for 2012–2014 using an income approach developed by Pritchard & Abbott.
Owners protested to the ARB and then sought de novo judicial review, arguing the well interests are subsumed in the land value and separate appraisal taxed the same property twice.
The trial court granted Owners’ motion for summary judgment, declaring the separate well accounts void as illegal double taxation; PCAD appealed.
The court of appeals, applying Texas precedent, reversed: it held separate assessment of an income-producing subsurface interest is permitted under the Texas Constitution and Tax Code and rendered summary judgment for PCAD on that legal issue, remanding for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether PCAD’s separate appraisal of subsurface saltwater disposal wells is void as illegal double taxation	Separate appraisal taxes the same taxable estate twice; the wells’ value is subsumed in fee simple land	Separate taxable estates or interests in real property may be listed and taxed separately under the Tax Code and precedent	Reversed trial court: separate assessment is permitted; judgment for PCAD on that legal question
Whether Tax Code/precedent authorize taxing an income-producing right to inject beneath land even if surface and subsurface not severed by conveyance	Taxable interests cannot be created for taxation absent severance or conveyance; permit alone does not create a separately taxable estate	Tax Code and Texas Supreme Court precedent allow separate taxation of distinct aspects/interests in the same tract (severance not required)	Held: tax law permits separate assessment of such an interest; severance by conveyance is not prerequisite

Matagorda County Appraisal District v. Coastal Liquids Partners, L.P., 165 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. 2005) (several aspects of a single tract can be taxed separately; categories of real property overlap)
State v. Fed. Land Bank of Houston, 329 S.W.2d 847 (Tex. 1959) (separately assessing severed mineral estates but not unsevered ones violates equal-and-uniform clause)
Key Energy Services, LLC v. Shelby County Appraisal District, 428 S.W.3d 133 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2014, pet. denied) (right to inject in active commercial use is a taxable estate or interest)
Cherokee Water Co. v. Gregg County Appraisal Dist., 801 S.W.2d 872 (Tex. 1990) (construction of code provisions addressing leaseholds; not controlling here)
Gregg County Appraisal Dist. v. Laidlaw Waste Sys., Inc., 907 S.W.2d 12 (Tex. App.—Tyler 1995, writ denied) (inadmissibility of appraisal valuing permit/intangibles; distinguishes use of intangible values)
Gifford-Hill & Co. v. Wise County Appraisal Dist., 827 S.W.2d 811 (Tex. 1991) (producing vs. non-producing subsurface distinctions relevant to separate taxation)