Fort Davis ISD filed a lawsuit to establish its lawful ownership of the Urquhart Avenue property and obtain just compensation for the unlawful, uncompensated taking of its property, including natural resources, by Jeff Davis County and the Fort Davis Water Supply Corporation through the unlawful acts of their officials. Unfortunately, Fort Davis ISD had no other choice but to protect the school district’s interests related to Urquhart Avenue and the surrounding area. This was not the school district’s preference for resolving this dispute, but after months of trying to find a resolution and recent lack of response by the defendants, it was clear that this would not be possible without going to court.
The school district looks forward to presenting this case to the court so that the students, staff, and community of Fort Davis ISD will not be taken advantage of by such political misconduct. The defendants entered the District’s property without authority and continued to access the property to unlawfully extract natural resources. The District acquired that land on September 5, 2003, subject to a right-of-way easement held by Jeff Davis County for roadway purposes; however, the County unlawfully authorized access to the FDWSC for installation of a single water tank. Eventually, the FDWSC exceeded the scope of even its unlawfully granted access, ultimately installing three water tanks, a mechanical shed, a generator, and a water well it is using, or intends to use very soon, for distribution and sale of water it does not own and to which it has no lawful claim.