City of Lubbock v. Stubbs

. PITTS, Chief Justice,

(dissenting).

I am unable to share the views of my Associates on the Court in the disposition made of this original action seeking relief pending appeal of the original case. This original proceeding was filed by the City of Lubbock seeking to halt further construction ■ work by Roger Q. Stubbs on a building program within the city limits of Lubbock, pending an appeal to this , Court from an adverse judgment rendered in the trial court involving the issue of injunc-tive relief sought by the city to compel compliance with the Lubbock city building code enacted by a city zoning ordinance. A hearing after notice was had in this Court on September 20, 1954, without Stubbs appearing or answering the city’s verified pleadings, other than to challenge the jurisdiction of this Court to hear and grant the relief sought and seeking a dismissal of the proceedings.

No appeal bond being required of the city, it was not necessary for it to file a su-persedeas bond in order to supersede the order of the trial court. City of West University Place v. Martin, 132 Tex. 354, 123 S.W.2d 638. But an affidavit was filed by a city employee in this Court in support of the city’s verified pleadings, prior to the hearing held by this Court, charging that Stubbs was continuing his construction work in violation of the city’s building code and thus was changing the matters in issue heard by the trial court while such are still on appeal to this Court.

It is the writer’s opinion that Article 1823, V.A.C.S., as often construed by the Courts of Texas, gives this Court jurisdiction’ over the subject matter. Without ex*519pressing an opinion on the merits of the principal action pending here on appeal, it is the further opinion of the writer that it is the duty of this Court to grant the relief sought by the City of Lubbock only to halt Roger Q. Stubbs, his agents and employees from further construction work on the premises in question, by in-junctive relief, and thus preserve the status of controversial matters pending on appeal in this Court until the same have been determined. Antner v. State, Tex.Civ.App., 114 S.W.2d 640; Leonard v. Small, Tex.Civ.App., 28 S.W.2d 826; Bird v. Alexander, Tex.Civ.App., 288 S.W. 606.