Lead Opinion
The Freer Municipal Independent School District and others (Freer) sued Clinton Manges аnd the Duval County Ranch Company (Manges) to recover delinquent school taxes. In June of 1980, the trial court rendered judgment assessing the amount of taxes due and awarding cоsts, attorney’s fees, interest, and foreclosing tax liens against Manges’ property.
The court of appeals reversed the portion of the judgment in favor of Freer (the authority to tax), affirming the remainder. Manges & Duval County Ranеy Co. v. Freer Independent School District,
The Texas Supreme Court initially reversed the judgment of the court of appeals, which was that the Freer Independent School District lacked the authority to tax, and affirmed the trial court in a per curiam opinion. Freer Municipal Independent School District v. Manges,
On remand, the trial court рrepared the itemization of delinquent taxes but restricted the parties to use of only the original trial record. That is, the court allowed no new evidence in refоrming the necessary property descriptions. We have again examined the descriptions and while these descriptions may be the best possible from the evidence presented at the first trial, we agree many are not adequate.
A judgment for foreclosure of a tax lien upon real estate must describe a definite traсt of land. Arnold v. Crockett Independent School District,
We therefore remand the casе to the trial court with instructions that it receive all necessary relevant evidence which will enable the court to determine and incorporate in the judgment a legally sufficient description of each parcel of property upon whiсh appellants owe taxes. The appellees’ authority to tax has heretofore been fully litigated and is no longer subject to review. The property description matters arose only incidentally.
Accordingly, through this Court’s discretionary powеr to remand a case for further proceedings, we now order the remand to the trial court with instructions that all relevant evidence be received to clarify thе property descriptions in the judgment and that the judgment be so modified.
It is so ordered. Costs to be assessed equally between the parties.
Lead Opinion
ON APPELLANTS’ AND APPELLEES’ MOTIONS FOR REHEARING
Following this Court’s order of remand with instructions to the trial court to receive all relevant evidence to clarify the property descriptions in the judgment and to so modify the judgment, both parties have рresented motions for rehearing on that order.
We agree with appelleеs’ complaint that court costs cannot be assessed against the taxing unit. TEX.TAX CODE ANN. § 33.49(a) (Vernоn 1982). Leander Independent School District v. Texas Conference Association of Seventh-Day Adventists,
This Court did not affirm and render on the property descriptions not contested by аppellants, but instead remanded those also in the event the trial court found herеto
We have examined appellants’ motion for rehearing and it is denied.
Accordingly, the previous order of remand with instructions is modified to this extent: the trial court’s judgment is affirmed as tо those parcels whose descriptions are not in issue, that is, where there werе no objections to the property descriptions of the parcels at trial or by brief in this Court, that portion of the judgment is hereby rendered. The order of remand is further modified to assess all court costs against appellants. It is so ORDERED.