Court Opinion

ID: 9644883
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:07:27.957317+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:19.134690
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
The Appraisal District1 complains in its motion for rehearing that we should not and could not have assessed damages against it under Rule 84, Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.
First, the appraisal district argues that in determining whether an appeal is taken without sufficient cause we must consider whether, “from the point of view of the appealing advocate ... it clearly appears that he had no reasonable grounds to believe that the case would be reversed on appeal." Assuming this to be the correct standard, and applying it to this case, we cannot avoid the conclusion that damages are warranted against the Appraisal District. From its point of view, having already abandoned its own position and concluded for subsequent tax years that The Leaves is exempt from ad valorem taxation, the Appraisal District clearly had no reasonable grounds to believe that the case would be reversed.
Second, the Appraisal District argues that we should consider whether it stood to gain financially from delay in the resolution of the case. Rule 84 imposes no such standard. If it did, damages could not be assessed in any case in which the stakes were non-pecuniary, no matter how frivolous the appeal. The rule requires that an assessment of damages for an appeal taken without sufficient cause be based upon a determination that the appeal has been taken for delay. The rule does not require, however, that the delay found by the court result from any particular motivation, financial or otherwise. It is the fact of delay that is important, not the reason. Thus, we need not speculate as to the Appraisal District’s motives, whether, for instance, the it may have been moved to prolong this litigation in hopes that the taxpayer would weary of the expense and burden of litigation and abandon suit. It is enough under the rule for us to find that the Appraisal District has delayed the final resolution of this matter by this appeal.
Third, the Appraisal District argues that damages under Rule 84 cannot be imposed against governmental entities, like itself, citing Rockwall County v. McLendon, 122 S.W.2d 228 (Tex.Civ.App. — Dallas 1938, no writ). McLendon was an appeal from a judgment commanding a county commissioners’ court to pay a condemnation award that was final on appeal. The court concluded that the judgment should be affirmed, and then stated:
Plaintiffs suggest delay and request that judgment be affirmed with damages. To justify the imposition of ten *432percent penalty for delay, it must appear that, at the time the appeal was perfected, the appealing party had no reasonable ground to believe the judgment would be reversed_ The record discloses that the defenses urged in the court below were based upon a number of comparatively recent statutes; the contention of defendants being that, under a correct construction of the statutes, no recovery could be had; so, in this situation, we are not prepared to say that, at the time the appeal was perfected, defendants had no reasonable ground to believe the judgment would not be reversed. Besides the penalty authorized by statute, Art. 1860, R.S.2, is imposed as punishment against the appealing party for prosecuting a frivolous appeal for delay. Appellants are public officials of Rockwall County, hence the penalty, if imposed, would be against the tax-payers of Rockwall County and not against these officials personally, therefore, believing the statute in applicable to the situation, recovery of ten percent delay damages is denied. Plaintiffs will be made entirely whole when they collect the face of the judgment, interest and court costs.
After a finding that the appeal was not frivolous, the McLendon court’s further observation that the statute allowing delay damages for frivolous appeals did not apply to governmental entities is dicta which we are not bound to follow. Furthermore, we are not inclined to follow the McLendon court’s reasoning. We see little distinction between damages for frivolous appeals and court costs, which are clearly assessable against governmental entities absent express statutory exemption. See Cortez v. Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, 674 S.W.2d 803, 808 (Tex.App. — Dallas 1984), rev’d on other grounds, 692 S.W.2d 47 (Tex.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 980, 106 S.Ct. 384, 86 L.Ed.2d 337 (1985). The fact that the burden of the Appraisal District’s misconduct falls upon the taxpayers does not alter our conclusion. We see no reason why taxpayers as a group should not be required to help compensate individual taxpayers subjected by their government to frivolous litigation.
The Appraisal District’s motion for rehearing is denied.

. We continue by this reference to include both the Dallas County Appraisal District and the Dallas County Review Board.

. Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 1860 provided:
Where the court shall find that an appeal or writ of error has been taken for delay, and that there was no sufficient cause for taking such appeal, then the appellant or plaintiff in error, if he be the defendant in the court below, shall pay ten per cent on the amount in dispute as damages, together with the judgment, interest and cost of suit thereon accruing.
Article 1860 was repealed by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 438, the predecessor of Rule 84.