State District Judge Margaret Barnes dismissed a lawsuit Monday filed against the Town of Flower Mound and Brandon Bammel, the Town’s Oil and Gas Inspector.
Filed by Virginia Simonson and Prakash Parameswaran on July 30, 2010, the lawsuit contended that the Town’s oil and gas drilling ordinance violated state zoning laws and the Town’s own ordinances; the drilling permit issued for the Hilliard/Titan site in Flower Mound was illegal; and an injunction should be issued to stop the issuance of the drilling permit for the Hilliard/Titan site. After the lawsuit was filed, Titan Operating, L.L.C. and Hilliard Minerals, L.L.C. joined the lawsuit as intervenors.
The Town successfully contended that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over this lawsuit and that none of the Town’s ordinances violated state law or any other Town ordinances.
Although court orders dismissing the lawsuit will not be available for copying until October 5, the court granted the pleas to the jurisdiction filed by the Town and the intervenors on October 4. Consequently, even if the Town had not been a party to the lawsuit and only Titan Operating and Hilliard Minerals had been sued by Ms. Simonson and Mr. Parameswaran, the lawsuit still would have been dismissed by the court.
Ms. Simonson and Mr. Parameswaran will have 30 days in which to decide whether to appeal the dismissal of their lawsuit by Judge Barnes.
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