The city of Cedar Park and Burleson Ranch jointly filed a notice of nonsuit Feb. 15, dismissing their
lawsuit against the Public Utility Commission of Texas relating to the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corp.’s transmission line route, according to Travis County District Clerk documents.
This comes after the PUCT submitted a plea to jurisdiction and amended plea to jurisdiction on Feb. 7 and Feb. 12, respectively. The pleas asked the court to dismiss the original case, stating the city of Cedar Park and landowner group Burleson Ranch failed to file a timely motion for rehearing and timely petition for judicial review.
After the utility commission
voted in May to approve the LCRA TSC’s LHO-1 transmission line route—which travels from Leander to Round Rock via Hero Way and Ronald Reagan Boulevard to RM 1431—the city of Cedar Park, city of Leander and Burleson Ranch issued
requests for rehearing. The cities had previously recommended the COL-1 route, which ran along Hero Way and CR 175 before meeting RM 1431, according to LCRA documents.
The first motions for rehearing were denied July 28, and then the city of Cedar Park and Burleson Ranch filed second motions for rehearing Aug. 22, according to
utility commission documents.
The utility commission’s pleas state that in accordance to the Administrative Procedure Act, the second motion for rehearing needed to be filed no later than Aug. 17, making them five days late.
Additionally, the amended plea says a petition for judicial review was due Sept. 18, but the city and Burleson Ranch filed their lawsuit Oct. 23.
“Therefore, the court lacks jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ suit, and it should be dismissed,” according to the amended plea.
The city of Cedar Park and Burleson Ranch responded by filing a notice of nonsuit, which dismisses the case, according to
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.