Bill Text: TX HCR16 | 2011 | 82nd Legislature 1st Special | Introduced
Bill Title: Granting William James Stroman, Jr., permission to sue the State of Texas and the board of regents of The University of Texas.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-14 - Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence [HCR16 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HCR16-Introduced.html
| 82S10216 CAC-F | ||
| By: Craddick | H.C.R. No. 16 | |
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| WHEREAS, William James Stroman, Jr., individually and as the | ||
| independent executor of the estate of William James Stroman and | ||
| attorney-in-fact for Cleo Lane Stroman (collectively referred to as | ||
| "Stroman"), alleges that: | ||
| (1) the State of Texas, through the board of regents of | ||
| The University of Texas System ("the board"), owns university | ||
| blocks 23, 24, and 26 ("university lands") located in Pecos County, | ||
| Texas, and exercises sole and exclusive management and control of | ||
| the lands set aside and appropriated to or acquired by the permanent | ||
| university fund, which was created and is governed by Sections 10, | ||
| 11, 15, and 18, Article VII, Texas Constitution; | ||
| (2) Stroman owns property adjoining the west line of | ||
| the university lands, referred to as the Stroman Ranch; | ||
| (3) during the year 2008, the board began removing a | ||
| fence located on or about the true boundary of the university lands | ||
| and began constructing a new fence west of the true boundary of the | ||
| university lands and entered the Stroman Ranch without consent and | ||
| staked a new fence line west of the true boundary of the university | ||
| lands; | ||
| (4) the board informed Stroman that it would be | ||
| constructing a new fence on the new staked fence line and stated | ||
| that the location of the new fence was based on a survey performed | ||
| by Frank F. Friend, the field notes of which were filed in the | ||
| General Land Office in 1939; | ||
| (5) the university lands were originally surveyed in | ||
| 1879 by R. M. Thomson, and Friend later resurveyed the university | ||
| lands in 1936, purportedly under the authority of Section 66.41, | ||
| Education Code, which called for lands to be resurveyed when it was | ||
| impracticable to establish lines and corners as originally | ||
| surveyed; | ||
| (6) the Friend survey placed the western boundary of | ||
| the university lands west of the previously established line and | ||
| clearly on the Stroman Ranch; | ||
| (7) Stroman informed the board of the error in the | ||
| location of the western boundary line; however, the board did not | ||
| correct the error and stated that the board disputed Stroman's | ||
| claim of ownership; | ||
| (8) in an attempt to resolve the dispute, Stroman | ||
| hired J. Stan Piper, a licensed state land surveyor, to establish | ||
| the proper western boundary of the university lands, and Piper | ||
| located the correct boundary between the university lands and the | ||
| Stroman Ranch, based on the original 1879 R. M. Thomson survey and | ||
| field notes, as well as subsequent surveys; | ||
| (9) Piper's conclusive findings, including locations | ||
| of monuments from the original R. M. Thomson survey, establish the | ||
| true boundary between the university lands and the Stroman Ranch | ||
| and demonstrate that the Friend survey was unnecessary and did not | ||
| establish the proper boundary; and | ||
| (10) the board intends to complete the fence along the | ||
| incorrect boundary between the university lands and the Stroman | ||
| Ranch, thereby trespassing on Stroman's property and denying | ||
| Stroman access to the property; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That | ||
| William James Stroman, Jr., individually and as the independent | ||
| executor of the estate of William James Stroman and | ||
| attorney-in-fact for Cleo Lane Stroman, is granted permission to | ||
| sue the State of Texas and the board of regents of The University of | ||
| Texas System subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practice and Remedies | ||
| Code; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That Stroman may not seek recovery of monetary | ||
| damages from the state, but may only seek a determination of the | ||
| boundary of Stroman's property and a determination of Stroman's | ||
| rights through a court order that fixes and determines the true | ||
| boundary between the university lands and the Stroman Ranch; and, | ||
| be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the suit authorized by this resolution may be | ||
| brought in Pecos or Travis County; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the relief awarded in the suit authorized by | ||
| this resolution is limited to the relief authorized under Chapter | ||
| 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or Chapter 22, Property Code, | ||
| or both; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the secretary of the board of regents of The | ||
| University of Texas System be served process as provided by Section | ||
| 107.002(a)(3), Civil Practice and Remedies Code. | ||
