John Gannon v. Texas Department of Transportation, et al.

Houston, Texas, commercial litigation lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued the Defendants challenging an adverse administrative decision relating to billboards.

Reported by Kent Morlan

ohn Gannon, Inc. (Gannon), owned multiple billboards regulated by
the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Following Gannon’s
alleged noncompliance with state billboard regulations, TxDOT sought to
cancel four of Gannon’s billboard permits. Gannon petitioned for an
administrative hearing and, subsequently, pursued an appeal in state court. Gannon also filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against TxDOT, the
Texas Transportation Commission (TTC), and Marc D. Williams in his
official capacity as Executive Director of TxDOT. The district court
concluded that sovereign immunity barred three of Gannon’s five claims and
that res judicata barred the remaining two.

Since the 1970s, Texas has regulated the erection and maintenance of
billboards. See Tex. Transp. Code § 391.002; see also 43 Tex. Admin. Code
§ 21.141, et seq. To operate a billboard, commercial sign owners must first
obtain a license from the TTC—TxDOT’s governing body. Tex. Transp.
Code §§ 201.201, 391.062. Once they are licensed, the sign owners must
receive a permit for each billboard they operate. Id. § 301.068(a). TxDOT
may rescind erroneously issued permits or permits for billboards that fall out
of compliance with state requirements. 43 Tex. Admin. Code § 21.174(a)(1),
(b). TxDOT may also impose daily administrative penalties up to $1,000 for
each violation. Id. § 21.191. But TxDOT regulations outline a notice, hearing,
and administrative appeals procedure for permit cancellation and associated
administrative penalties. See id. §§ 21.174(d), (f), (g), 1.36(a), 1.37(a). And
the Texas Administrative Procedure Act (Texas APA) provides a path for
judicial review of adverse administrative decisions, so long as the petitioner
files no later than thirty days after a final TTC decision. See Tex. Gov’t Code
§ 2001.176(a).

Summary judgment in favor of the Defendants.

Affirmed

See: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/25/25-20244-CV0.pdf