On March 30, 2012, the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed their earlier decision on the Severance v. Patterson case, hereby  gutting the Texas Open Beaches Act.  We can now expect even more attempts to privatize all beaches in Texas.  Your chapter will need your help to fight these off. 

One thing you can do today that is easy and fast is Take the Texas A&M Survey  on the Strategic Plan for the Texas Coast.  It takes no more than 10 minutes.  Please take the time to write-in your comments about what just happened with the Severance v. Patterson case.  Here is an example from Ellis from the Texas Upper Coast Chapter:

The recent Texas Supreme Court ruling against the Texas Open Beaches Act should not go unpunished. In 2010 77% of Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment giving us a "constitutional right" to access and use Gulf beaches. The will of the people has been squashed by 5 Texas Supreme Court inJustice's.

Please use your own words in your comments in the survey, 

If we do not take action and do this, we are compromising free and unrestricted access to our beaches for us, our kids, and future generations.

You can read more about the verdict here.

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Severance is attempting to get a home bought out by a FEMA sponsored program because she alleges that it was "substantially damaged" by hurricane Ike.  In the meantime, she is collecting over $5,000 a week renting it!  Click on the link below to read more. 

Buyout struggle grips Galveston beach community

By HARVEY RICE, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 16, 2011

GALVESTON - A rancorous dispute among homeowners in an exclusive Galveston Island beach community triggered an ongoing fraud investigation into a $25 million federal buyout program for houses damaged by Hurricane Ike.

A key figure in the unresolved struggle over the buyouts is Carol Severance, a San Diego attorney whose lawsuit led the Texas Supreme Court last year to weaken the state Open Beaches Act.  [...read more...]

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

US 5th Circuit to Decide if Severance v Patterson Moot

The Texas Open Beaches Act (OBA) has been under a malicious attack by Californian Lawyer and Real Estate Agent Carol Severance and the California based property rights non profit law firm Pacific Legal Foundation since 2006, when The Texas General Land Office (GLO) and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson served her notice that her 3 properties were on the public beach in violation of the OBA and must be removed.  Even though Severance was very aware of the risk in buying these properties and knew that two of them were already on the GLO removal list, she filed suit against Patterson to get the Open Beaches Act ruled unconstitutional.  Severance v Patterson now represents the life or death of what Texans have enjoyed for 200 years; unrestricted access to all of Texas' beaches.

Since then, the Open Beaches Act was declared constitutional by Texas District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in 2007 who's decision was then appealed by the Pacific Legal Foundation to the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.  The US 5th Circuit then kicked the case to the Texas Supreme Court who was supposed to answer 3 questions before the Feds would rule.  In November 2009, Texas voters went to the polls and enshrined the Open Beaches Act in our State Constitution by a 3 to 1 margin only to then have the Texas Supreme Court go against that with a ruling on Severance v Patterson in November, 2010 that gutted the OBA and forced the GLO to cancel a $40 million beach renourishment project in Galveston after Hurricane Ike.

Then in April, 2011, after much public outrage and dozens of filed briefs by stakeholders and public beach advocacy groups such as Surfrider Foundation, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to rehear arguments.  Then we waited to see if the court would overturn their previous ruling and restore the OBA.  All the while, Severance was busy selling off her properties that were involved in the case through a FEMA buyout program that was implemented after Hurricane Ike.  On June 24th, 2011 she sold her final property and the Texas Attorney General quickly filed a brief asking the Texas Supreme court to declare the case moot and vacate their previous decision since Severance no longer had any conflict with the State of Texas.  [...read more...]

Second chance for Texas beach access to prevail

Texas Supreme Court severely weakened the cherished Texas Open Beaches Act

• By Editorial Board
• Corpus Christi Caller Times
• Posted April 22, 2011 at 3:01 a.m., updated April 22, 2011 at 3:15 a.m.

CORPUS CHRISTI — There's reason to hope that the Texas Supreme Court will restore the public's full right to beach access. The court heard arguments Tuesday regarding its unwise Nov. 5 decision in Severance vs. Patterson, in which the court severely weakened the cherished Texas Open Beaches Act.

The court decided in that case to prevent the state from requiring a property owner to remove a house near Galveston that ended up in the public's right-of-way as a result of Hurricane Rita. The Open Beaches Act in 1959 established that anything beyond the vegetation line on the coast was public property. Beach erosion, gradual or otherwise, was a risk understood by owners of coastal property. The vegetation line was an accepted "rolling easement."[...read more...]

Discussion Examines Severance v. Patterson

A panel discussion at Texas Wesleyan School of Law on March 25, 2011, examined the Texas Supreme Court case of Severance v. Patterson and the property law questions the case brings into focus.  The event was co-hosted by the Environmental Law Society and the Federalist Society at the law school.

A divided Texas Supreme Court declared in November 2010 in Severance v. Patterson that state law does not recognize an independent public beachfront easement that allows access to and use of all beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, the court took the rare step of agreeing to rehear the case, with oral arguments scheduled for April 19, 2011.

Timothy Mulvaney, associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, served as the moderator for the discussion. The panelists represented views from all sides of the case: J. David Breemer, lead counsel for plaintiff Carol Severance and principal attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, and Ellis Pickett, former chairman of the Texas Upper Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, who filed an amicus brief in support of defendant Jerry Patterson, Texas land commissioner, were often at odds during the discussion as each argued passionately about the legal and ethical issues involved in the case.  [...read more and watch the video...]

What Babe said about Texas Open Beaches Act

By Heber Taylor

The Daily News

Published February 13, 2011 If you ask Babe Schwartz, the Texas Supreme Court temporarily lost its mind.

Schwartz, a former state senator from Galveston and one of the legendary characters at the state Capitol, was lecturing at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He was telling students about the Texas Open Beaches Act and about the court’s recent action in the Severance case, which challenged the traditional interpretation of the open beaches act.

Schwartz, 84, was in the legislature when the open beaches act was passed in 1959. His lecture was a chance for young people studying marine sciences to hear from a man who was there when the landmark law was written.

Schwartz, who has taught courses on coastal law at several universities, said four members of the Texas Supreme Court who responded to questions from a federal appellate court simply made a mistake — albeit an expensive one.

Because the court’s action put the public’s access to beaches in doubt, a $40 million project to put sand on the beaches on Galveston’s West End was scrubbed. Obviously,...

[Read more]

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Check this article published on WKRG.com:

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