Austin judge reschedules Duranguito-City of El Paso hearing

The face-off between the City and those who oppose the construction of an arena in the Duranguito neighborhood will have to wait several weeks.

Tuesday morning, a judge in Austin reset the hearing for mid-July, as several motions had been introduced by different parties in the days leading up to the hearing and during the holiday weekend. More importantly, the judge had just been assigned that morning as per Travis County rules.

“I just don’t think we’re quite ready to go today,” Judge Amy Clark Meachum said.

Several parties filed documents to make sure their interests are represented in the case, some of whom made the trip to Austin.

Historical Activist Max Grossman, who seeks to protect structures and residents in Duranguito was there, represented by Lisa Bowlin Hobbs who was General Counsel for the Texas Supreme Court and Harriet O’Neill, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice. Historians Dr. David Romo and Dr. Yolanda Chavez Leyva were also at the hearing as was State Senator Jose Rodriguez, who has publicly opposed the displacement of residents in the Duranguito area.

Duranguito residents Antonia Flores Morales, Candelaria Garcia, Emily Saenz Gardea and Olga Lopez are being represented by Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, according to the court docket, though they were not at the hearing. Their attorney, Robert Doggett, spoke on their behalf.

El Paso Businessman Leonard “Tripper” Goodman III, was present. He filed documents to become an intervenor. Goodman was a vocal advocate for the 2012 Quality of Life bonds and headed the El Paso Tomorrow PAC that financed the campaign in support of the bonds. His attorney was the only one who opposed having a camera in the courtroom as he told the judge, “it would turn the court proceeding into a circus.” Judge Meachum disagreed with him and allowed KVIA’s camera to stay.

KVIA contacted all attorneys of record last week and filed the necessary paperwork to request their consent to allow a camera in the courtroom and provide a live feed of the proceedings as all El Pasoans were legally named “interested parties” in the case. A judge takes into consideration any opposition and ultimately makes the final call.

The City of El Paso was the first entity that consented to having a camera in the courtroom. All attorneys signed the consent form as per Travis County court rules and returned it within a day of receiving it.

City Attorney Sylvia Borunda Firth was in the courtroom, but not seated at the counsel table where attorneys from two law firms, Norton Rose Fulbright LLC and Denton Navarro Rocha Bernal Hyde & Zech, were. Norton Rose Fulbright has been advising the city on the arena issue since at least February, where a presentation to city council described the city had engaged in a “contract with the voters” through an ordinance approved by council and the subsequent approval of the bond proposals by voters. Those two mandate the City build the multi-purpose facility downtown, Norton Rose Fulbright advises.

“While the City of the El Paso was prepared to move forward with the hearing today, we were not surprised the judge decided to set the matter for a later date,” City Attorney Sylvia Borunda Firth said in a statement. “There are now multiple interveners and new legal issues which need to briefed. Despite the new parties, the City remains confident in our position and looks forward to a finding the project is being delivered in accordance with the contract with the voters.”

“We went out and spoke to the voters and the bond issue in this proposition won overwhelmingly, and when we spoke to everybody, the question was always asked: where would it be? And we said downtown and they were clear where it was specifically intended to be,” said Businessman Tripper Goodman with the 2012 Bond Committee.

However, the group representing the Duranguito neighborhood threatened to sue the City in April in efforts to keep the City from building the arena there.

El Paso attorney Frank Ainsa wants the City to select an alternate site for the arena and threatened a lawsuit on the grounds that “the arena does not qualify as the voter approved multi-purpose performing arts and entertainment facility.”

The City then asked a judge to issue a declaratory judgment, a ruling, confirming the validity of the Downtown arena bond and its authority to proceed with construction in Downtown El Paso.

The City requested an expedited hearing, but the Judge Meachum felt it would be better to move down the process to allow time for everyone to better prepare.

Tuesday, the attorney representing longtime Duranguito residents asked the judge to prevent the City from entering into any contracts and buying land in the area until the hearing takes place.

“I fail to see the urgency of evicting or causing people to be evicted over the next 30 days,” Robert Doggett said.

“The City is not evicting tenants,” replied Scott Incerto, with Norton Rose Fulbright. To the contrary, he said, those residents have moved out into other housing areas provided by the City.

“We’re not asking for land owners to do anything. We’re asking for the City to refrain, temporarily, from acquiring new land,” Doggett insisted, saying the bond money being used to enter into contracts is at the heart of the case.

The judge declined Doggett’s request as the argument was not properly filed, she said. “I don’t think there’s anything for me to rule (on).”

An attorney with the Texas Attorney General’s Office was present. The AG’s office is a defendant in the case. Attorney Kyle Wolfe said the AG has not taken a side on the issue, but will once they’ve had time to review the filings.

Editor’s note: Attorney Robert Dogget was incorrectly identified as Frank Ainsa in a previous version of this story.