City Loses Appeal in Bid to Demolish Apartment Complex

On August 18, the Fourth Court of Appeals upheld a Bexar County trial court's issuance of a temporary injunction preventing the City of San Antonio (COSA) from demolishing an apartment complex undergoing renovations.

COSA appealed the issuance of the injunction, and the trial court's denial of its plea to the jurisdiction on grounds that the Plaintiff -- a bank who had provided over a half-million dollars in financing for the apartment's new owner's purchase and renovation efforts -- lacked standing to challenge the planned demolition. In essence, COSA asserted that the Bank, as a mere lender and not owner of the complex, lacked sufficient interest in the property to challenge the City's previously-issued demolition order.

In an opinion authored by Chief Justice Catherine Stone, the San Antonio Appellate Court found that the bank -- as an innocent lender -- maintained standing under the Warranty Deed and Deed of Trust to seek Court declarations of its rights (vis-a-vis the City) under those documents. The Fourth Court also determined that because COSA failed to file a copy of the demolition order in the Official Public Records of Real Property, notice of the impending demolition was not imputed to the bank, and the injunction preventing demolition was proper.

Based on the foregoing, the trial court's injunction order was affirmed.