Lawsuit Response

January 6, 2026

Play Fair with Rosedale Attorney Renea Hicks filed his initial response to AISD’s lawsuit against its Rosedale neighbors, urging the court to deny what AISD is seeking in a declaratory judgment and to make AISD pay the legal expenses of all the defendants he represents. Hicks currently represents 71 of the 125 named defendants.

Here are some key points from his response to AISD’s petition:

• AISD has the burden of proof and has failed to do so.
• The court lacks jurisdiction to make a declaratory judgement at this time, partly because AISD sued some people it should not have sued and did not sue others who have standing in the case.
• AISD is barred from obtaining a judicial decision on the deed use restrictions of the nine lots it purchased in 1946 for the school’s expansion because it violated the deed restrictions at that time by failing to seek unanimous approval of its neighbors to use those lots for any purpose other than a residence. This failure triggered a clause in the deeds that reverts ownership to the sellers or their heirs. Therefore, AISD does not have clear title on those lots and the sellers’ heirs can claim the lots and must be parties to any litigation.
• AISD’s petition does not specify which of the four enforceable (non‐voided) deed restrictions it is seeking a judgement on, nor the breadth and scope of the declaration it is seeking.

The lawsuit was filed on October 31, 2025, in Travis County District Court.

We are monitoring the case closely and will provide updates as it progresses.