City of Houston v. Northwood Municipal Utility Dist. No. 1

On November 15, 2001, this Court issued an opinion reversing the trial courts’ denial of appellant’s plea to the jurisdiction and rendered judgment dismissing appellees’ claims for want of jurisdiction. Appellees have filed a motion requesting that we reconsider the assessment of appellate costs. In this Court’s judgment, we ordered that all costs of appeal be paid by appellees. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.4. Appellees contend that each party should have been liable for its own costs of appeal. In support of this contention, appellees rely on section 51.015 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and Harris County Flood Control District v. PG&E, 35 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2001, pet dism’d w.o.j.). As in this case, PG&E involved an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction filed by a governmental unit, i.e., the Harris County Flood Control District. PG&E, 35 S.W.3d at 773; see also Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. � 51.014(a)(8) (Vernon Supp. 2002). In PG&E, we held as follows:

On rehearing, the District challenges the allocation of costs. The District is correct. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 51.015, each party is liable for and is taxed its own costs of the appeal. PG&E, 35 S.W.3d at 774.