The battle for the beach rolls onto the beach at the Texas Supreme Court

The state’s highest civil court will wade into the controversy over rolling easements on Texas beaches. In orders handed down today, the Texas Supreme Court granted oral arguments in Severance v. Patterson, et al. The case involves California attorney and Galveston beach property owner Carol Severance’s legal battle with state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and other state and local officials who contended in the wake of 2005’s Hurricane Rita that two beachfront houses Severance owns are now on the public beach. One of Severance’s beefs is the state’s refusal to compensate her for the houses. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals certified three questions to the state Supreme Court in Severance. [See “Battle for the Beach,” Texas Lawyer, May 4, 2009, page 1.]  The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for arguments in the case.
-- Mary Alice Robbins

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I thank thee that I am none of the wheels of power but I am one with the living creatures that are crushed by it.