Star Houston, Inc. v. Bray

The motor vehicle division of the Texas Department of Transportation (the “Division”) entered a final order in a contested case brought by appellant Star Houston, Inc., d/b/a Star Motor Cars (“Star”) against appellee Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (“MBUSA”). Star filed a motion for rehearing with the Division. The Division denied Star’s motion for rehearing. Star filed a petition for judicial review in district court against MBUSA and appellee Brett Bray in his official capacity as director of the Division. However, Star’s petition was not filed within 30 days of the date on which the Division’s order denying Star’s motion for rehearing was rendered. As a result, the district court dismissed Star’s suit as untimely under the Administrative Procedure Act (the “APA”). Star argues that its petition was timely because it was filed within 30 days of the date on which Star received notice of the Division’s order. Alternatively, Star argues that the district court should have remanded the case to the Division to obtain new evidence regarding when the Division’s order was, in fact, rendered. We affirm the judgment of the district court.

Factual and Procedural Background