{"attribution":{"source":"legal.exploreworldai.com","canonical":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca5-25-50160-2026-09-15","cite_as":"NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca5-25-50160-2026-09-15)","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision","version":"legal-2026-10-16","fingerprint":"ewai:us:20376f","proof":"sha256:05131183fb70eedcdf22a2fb5efe55c5c40f744b2f5ee6a96d7023eab7ec7205","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","publisher":"NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal","terms":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om"},"brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","item":{"schema_version":"1.0.0","id":"us:ca5-25-50160-2026-09-15","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","brand":{"product":"NovaCopilot","platform":"ExploreWorldAI","infrastructure":"ExploreWorld Legal","infrastructure_url":"legal.exploreworldai.com","legal_entity":"Valkiv Ventures 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matter","paragraphs":["para_1","para_2","para_3","para_4","para_5","para_6","para_7","para_8","para_9","para_10","para_11","para_12","para_13","para_14","para_15","para_16","para_17","para_18","para_19","para_20","para_21","para_22","para_23","para_24","para_25","para_26","para_27","para_28","para_29","para_30","para_31","para_32","para_33","para_34","para_35","para_36","para_37","para_38","para_39","para_40","para_41","para_42","para_43","para_44","para_45","para_46","para_47","para_48","para_49","para_50","para_51","para_52","para_53","para_54","para_55","para_56","para_57","para_58","para_59","para_60","para_61","para_62","para_63","para_64","para_65","para_66","para_67","para_68","para_69","para_70","para_71","para_72","para_73","para_74","para_75","para_76","para_77","para_78","para_79","para_80","para_81","para_82","para_83","para_84","para_85","para_86","para_87","para_88","para_89","para_90","para_91","para_92","para_93","para_94","para_95","para_96","para_97","para_98","para_99","para_100","para_101","para_102","para_103","para_104","para_105","para_106","para_107","para_108","para_109","para_110","para_111","para_112","para_113","para_114","para_115","para_116","para_117","para_118","para_119","para_120","para_121","para_122","para_123","para_124","para_125","para_126","para_127","para_128","para_129","para_130","para_131","para_132","para_133","para_134","para_135","para_136","para_137","para_138","para_139","para_140","para_141","para_142","para_143","para_144","para_145","para_146","para_147","para_148","para_149","para_150","para_151","para_152","para_153","para_154","para_155","para_156","para_157","para_158","para_159","para_160","para_161","para_162","para_163","para_164","para_165","para_166","para_167","para_168","para_169","para_170","para_171","para_172","para_173","para_174","para_175","para_176","para_177","para_178","para_179","para_180","para_181","para_182","para_183","para_184","para_185","para_186","para_187","para_188","para_189","para_190","para_191","para_192","para_193","para_194","para_195","para_196","para_197","para_198","para_199","para_200","para_201","para_202","para_203","para_204","para_205","para_206","para_207","para_208","para_209","para_210","para_211","para_212","para_213","para_214","para_215","para_216","para_217","para_218","para_219","para_220","para_221","para_222","para_223","para_224","para_225","para_226","para_227","para_228","para_229","para_230","para_231","para_232","para_233","para_234","para_235","para_236","para_237","para_238","para_239","para_240","para_241","para_242","para_243","para_244","para_245","para_246","para_247","para_248","para_249","para_250","para_251","para_252","para_253","para_254","para_255","para_256","para_257","para_258","para_259","para_260","para_261","para_262","para_263","para_264","para_265","para_266","para_267","para_268","para_269","para_270","para_271","para_272","para_273","para_274","para_275","para_276","para_277","para_278","para_279","para_280","para_281","para_282","para_283","para_284","para_285","para_286","para_287","para_288","para_289","para_290","para_291","para_292","para_293","para_294","para_295","para_296","para_297","para_298","para_299","para_300","para_301","para_302","para_303","para_304","para_305","para_306","para_307","para_308","para_309","para_310","para_311","para_312","para_313","para_314","para_315","para_316","para_317","para_318","para_319","para_320","para_321","para_322","para_323","para_324","para_325","para_326","para_327","para_328","para_329","para_330","para_331","para_332","para_333","para_334","para_335","para_336","para_337","para_338","para_339","para_340","para_341","para_342","para_343"],"kind":"front_matter"}],"paragraphs":[{"text":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"for the Fifth Circuit","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"____________","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"Judy Harward; Brent Harward; 3325 Westlake Owners,","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"L.L.C.; Kirk Fritschen, as trustee of the 3705 Westlake","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"Trust; 4200 Rivercrest, L.L.C., Et al.,","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"Plaintiffs—Appellants,","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"versus","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"City of Austin","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"Defendant—Appellee.","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"______________________________","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"Appeal from the United States District Court","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"for the Western District of Texas","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"USDC No. 1:21-CV-95","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"______________________________","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"Before Willett, Engelhardt, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge:","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"Several owners of shoreline property along Lake Austin (the","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"Homeowners) sued the City of Austin over a 2019 ordinance declaring that","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"their properties were—and always had been—within Austin’s full-purpose","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"jurisdiction. Nearly six years later, the district court still has not ruled on all","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"the City’s grounds for dismissal, let alone the merits. This is the case’s","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"second trip to our court. After we previously reversed and remanded, the","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"district court abstained under Pullman from ruling on the Homeowners’","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"Fifth Circuit","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"FILED","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"September 15, 2026","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"Lyle W. Cayce","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"Clerk","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"2","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"claims. That was error. The Homeowners raise a federal equal-protection","paragraph_id":"para_36","court_paragraph":2},{"text":"claim—that Austin subjects them to full-purpose taxation but provides fewer","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"services than other full-purpose residents receive—and that claim does not","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"depend on any disputed question of Texas law. We REVERSE and","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"REMAND.","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"I. Background","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"This dispute concerns several properties along Lake Austin. In 2019,","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"the City adopted an ordinance that (1) declared that the properties had","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"always been within the City’s full-purpose jurisdiction, (2) repealed a 1986","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"Ordinance whose caption declared those properties to be within the City’s","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"limited-purpose jurisdiction and provided that they would not be taxed until","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"city services were provided,1 and (3) subjected them to full taxation “because","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"they are within City limits.”","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":"The Homeowners sued, alleging that the 2019 Ordinance violates","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"federal and state law. The City moved to dismiss the case on several grounds.","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"The district court dismissed all claims without prejudice under the Tax","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"Injunction Act.2 On appeal, we reversed as to all but two of the Homeowners’","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"claims.3","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"1 Texas home-rule cities exercise different powers depending on where the","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"property falls. Within a city’s full-purpose jurisdiction, the city has full regulatory and","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"taxing authority. See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 51.072. Within its limited-purpose","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"jurisdiction, the city may exercise some regulatory authority but may not tax the property","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"and need not provide full city services there. See id. § 43.130(c). Extraterritorial jurisdiction","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"is even narrower: a city may regulate only “specific matters, including plats and subdivision","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"of land, signage, public roads, and groundwater extraction.” Elliott v. City of College Station,","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"717 S.W.3d 888, 892 (Tex. 2025); see also Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 212.003.","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"2 See 28 U.S.C. § 1341.","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"3 See Harward v. City of Austin, 84 F.4th 319, 325 (5th Cir. 2023) (per curiam).","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"3","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"On remand, the City reasserted its remaining grounds for dismissal:","paragraph_id":"para_68","court_paragraph":3},{"text":"(1) the political-question doctrine, (2) Pullman abstention,4 (3) Burford","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"abstention,5 and (4) failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6).6 The","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"magistrate judge recommended abstention under Pullman but did not address","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"the City’s other grounds for dismissal. Over the Homeowners’ objection, the","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"district court adopted that recommendation and dismissed the claims","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"without prejudice. The court then entered final judgment, and the","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"Homeowners appealed.","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"II. Mootness","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"The City argues that the case is moot because Senate Bill 1844, passed","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"by the Texas Legislature in 2025, provides a statutory mechanism for","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"disannexation from the City.7","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"“A case becomes moot—and therefore no longer a ‘Case’ or","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"‘Controversy’ for purposes of Article III—‘when the issues presented are","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"no longer “live” or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"outcome.’”8 But any “concrete interest, however small,” keeps the dispute","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"4 See R.R. Comm’n of Tex. v. Pullman Co., 312 U.S. 496 (1941).","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"5 See Burford v. Sun Oil Co., 319 U.S. 315 (1943).","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"6 See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"7 See Act of May 28, 2025, 89th R.S., ch. 235 (codified at Tex. Loc. Gov’t","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"Code § 43.141).","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"8 Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 568 U.S. 85, 91 (2013) (quoting Murphy v. Hunt,","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"455 U.S. 478, 481 (1982) (per curiam)).","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"4","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"alive.9 The party asserting mootness “bears the burden of coming forward","paragraph_id":"para_95","court_paragraph":4},{"text":"with the subsequent events that have produced that alleged result.”10","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"The case is not moot.","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"First, S.B. 1844 provides that “the landowners of the area” adjacent","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"to a navigable waterway “are not eligible for a refund of taxes or fees.”11 Any","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"tax refund must be pursued through Texas’s tax-protest regime.12 But the","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"Travis County Appraisal District cannot adjudicate whether these properties","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"lie within the City’s taxing jurisdiction, and the City cannot be joined in such","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"a proceeding.13 The Homeowners therefore retain a financial stake in the","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"validity of the 2019 Ordinance.14","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"Second, S.B. 1844 does not provide for automatic disannexation. The","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"Homeowners say the City has “partially disannexed the properties of 127","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"Homeowners” and “rejected 31 Homeowners’ valid requests for","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"disannexation.” The City has not shown otherwise. For those Homeowners,","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"9 Knox v. SEIU, Local 1000, 567 U.S. 298, 307–08 (2012) (quoting Ellis v. Bhd. of","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"Ry., Airline & S.S. Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Emps., 466 U.S. 435, 442","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"(1984)).","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"10 Cardinal Chem. Co. v. Morton Int’l, Inc., 508 U.S. 83, 98 (1993).","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"11 Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 43.141(g).","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"12 Texas law channels disputes over the “identification of the taxing units in which","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"the owner’s property is taxable” through the Tax Code’s protest process. Tex. Tax","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"Code § 41.41(a)(6). Appraisal review boards have exclusive jurisdiction over those","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"protests. See id. § 25.22.","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"13 See Bailey v. Travis Cent. Appr. Dist., No. D-1-GN-20-006182 (53rd Dist. Ct.,","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"Travis County, Tex. Jan. 26, 2021) (abating the case because the Tax Code prohibited","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"joinder of the City). That proceeding remains stayed.","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"14 See United States v. Washington, 596 U.S. 832, 837 (2022) (“If there is money at","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"stake, the case is not moot.”).","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 4 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"5","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"a declaration that the 2019 Ordinance is unlawful could still determine","paragraph_id":"para_127","court_paragraph":5},{"text":"whether their properties remain within the City’s full-purpose jurisdiction.","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"III.","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"Pullman Abstention","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"We turn next to Pullman abstention. We review de novo whether","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"Pullman’s legal requirements are met, and we review the district court’s","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"weighing of the equities for abuse of discretion.15","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"This case does not warrant Pullman abstention. The Homeowners","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"allege that the City violates the Equal Protection Clause by treating them as","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"full-purpose residents for taxation but not for municipal services. That","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"federal claim does not turn on any disputed question of Texas law. The","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"district court therefore erred in abstaining.","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"A. Pullman’s Requirements","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"Under Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Co., a federal court","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"may, in narrow circumstances, defer deciding a federal constitutional claim","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"while an uncertain state-law issue is resolved.16 Because “[a]bstention from","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"the exercise of federal jurisdiction is the exception, not the rule,” it should","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"be rare.17 We have described Pullman as requiring two things: “(1) a federal","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"constitutional challenge to state action and (2) an unclear issue of state law","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"that, if resolved, would make it unnecessary for us to rule on the federal","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"15 Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Unauthorized Prac. of L. Comm., 283 F.3d 650, 652","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"(5th Cir. 2002).","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"16 See 312 U.S. at 500–01.","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"17 Colo. River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 813 (1976);","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"see also City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 467 (1987) (“Abstention is, of course, the","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"exception and not the rule.”).","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"6","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"constitutional question.”18 Only the second is disputed here, and it has two","paragraph_id":"para_157","court_paragraph":6},{"text":"parts.19","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"First, the state-law issue must matter to the federal claim. That is,","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"resolving it must “render unnecessary or substantially modify the federal","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"constitutional question.”20","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"Second, the state-law issue must be genuinely uncertain—a “difficult","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"and unsettled” question.21 The Supreme Court has described this inquiry as","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"one of legal ambiguity,22 which requires an “uncertainty of meaning . . . that","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"gives rise to any of two or more quite different but almost equally plausible","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"18 Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 283 F.3d at 653.","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"19 Our older cases sometimes used “factors” language. See, e.g., High Ol’ Times,","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"Inc. v. Busbee, 621 F.2d 135, 139 (5th Cir. 1980) (explaining that Pullman abstention “should","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"be applied only when the court is convinced that at least one of the Pullman factors is","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"present”). More recent cases state the requirements conjunctively. See, e.g., Tex.","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"Democratic Party v. Abbott, 961 F.3d 389, 397 n.13 (5th Cir. 2020) (quoting Moore v.","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"Hosemann, 591 F.3d 741, 745 (5th Cir. 2009)). We need not reconcile those formulations.","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"Supreme Court precedent requires an uncertain state-law issue whose resolution could","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"eliminate or materially alter the federal constitutional question.","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"20 Harman v. Forssenius, 380 U.S. 528, 535 (1965); see also Baran v. Port of Beaumont","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"Nav. Dist., 57 F.3d 436, 442 (5th Cir. 1995) (Pullman abstention is appropriate only where","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"“there is an issue of uncertain state law that is ‘fairly subject to an interpretation [by a state","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"court] which will render unnecessary or substantially modify the federal constitutional","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"question’” (quoting La. Debating & Literary Ass’n v. City of New Orleans, 42 F.3d 1483,","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"1492 (5th Cir. 1995))).","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"21 Haw. Hous. Auth. v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229, 236 (1984).","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"22 See Wisconsin v. Constantineau, 400 U.S. 433, 439 (1971) (“Where there is no","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"ambiguity in the state statute, the federal court should not abstain but should proceed to","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"decide the federal constitutional claim.”); Harman, 380 U.S. at 535 n.9 (finding abstention","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"inappropriate where there was no “material ambiguity” of state law).","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 6 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"7","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"interpretations.”23 Mere disagreement between the parties does not make","paragraph_id":"para_190","court_paragraph":7},{"text":"state law uncertain.24","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"Pullman sets a high bar—and does so on purpose.25 It applies “only in","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"narrowly limited” circumstances.26 Abstention is not appropriate simply","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"because no state court has yet provided a definitive answer to a state-law","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"question.27 State-court silence does not make a question “difficult and","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"unsettled.” If ordinary interpretive tools yield a discernible answer,28 the law","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"is not uncertain, and the federal court should answer the question—not","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"abstain so a state court can answer it first.29","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"Even when those rigorous requirements are met, Pullman abstention","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"remains discretionary. It “is not an automatic rule applied whenever a federal","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"23 Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"Interpretation of Legal Texts 425 (2012) (emphasis added).","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"24 See Haw. Hous. Auth., 467 U.S. at 237 (“[T]he relevant inquiry is not whether","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"there is a bare, though unlikely, possibility that state courts might render adjudication of","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"the federal question unnecessary,” but whether “‘the statute is of an uncertain nature, and","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"is obviously susceptible of a limiting construction.’” (quoting Zwickler v. Koota, 389 U.S.","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"241, 251 n.14 (1967))).","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"25 Id. at 236 (“Pullman abstention is limited to uncertain questions of state law","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"because ‘[a]bstention from the exercise of federal jurisdiction is the exception, not the","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"rule.’” (quoting Colo. River Water Conservation Dist., 424 U.S. at 813)).","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"26 Zwickler, 389 U.S. at 248.","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"27 See Harman, 380 U.S. at 534–35 (“If the state statute in question, although never","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"interpreted by a state tribunal, is not fairly subject to an interpretation which will render","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"unnecessary or substantially modify the federal constitutional question, it is the duty of the","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"federal court to exercise its properly invoked jurisdiction.”).","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"28 The district court identified uncertainty but did not ask whether ordinary","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"interpretive tools resolved the disputed state-law questions.","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"29 See Davis v. Mann, 377 U.S. 678, 690 (1964) (“Where a federal court’s","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"jurisdiction is properly invoked, and the relevant state constitutional and statutory","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"provisions are plain and unambiguous, there is no necessity for the federal court to abstain","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"pending determination of the state law questions in a state court.”).","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 7 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"8","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"court is faced with a doubtful issue of state law; it rather involves a","paragraph_id":"para_226","court_paragraph":8},{"text":"discretionary exercise of a court’s equity powers.”30 And in exercising that","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"discretion, a court may consider how long the case has been pending.31","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"B. Pullman Does Not Apply Here","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"The parties dispute the meaning and effect of the 1986 Ordinance.","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"The Homeowners argue that the 2019 Ordinance unlawfully repealed it. The","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"1986 Ordinance is captioned as “DECLARING THE LIMITED","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"PURPOSE JURISDICTION STATUS OF ALL SHORELINE","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"PROPERTIES.” Its body states that “the City of Austin has not regularly","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"and routinely provided comparable municipal services” to those properties,","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"that they “have never been taxed by the City of Austin,” and that “certain","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"services normally provided in limited purpose jurisdiction areas . . . have","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"been long provided in this area.” The Homeowners argue that those","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"provisions established their properties’ limited-purpose status, making the","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"2019 Ordinance unlawful under several federal and state laws.","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"The City reads the Ordinance differently. It argues that the body never","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"expressly placed the shoreline properties in the City’s limited-purpose","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"jurisdiction. It also says the caption is irrelevant because a title does not bear","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"on a law’s meaning.32","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"30 Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360, 375 (1964).","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"31 See Mayor of Phila. v. Educ. Equal. League, 415 U.S. 605, 628 (1974).","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"32 The parties dispute whether the caption matters to the Ordinance’s meaning, an","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"issue of Texas law we need not decide. See Sanders v. Boeing Co., 680 S.W.3d 340, 348","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"(Tex. 2023) (“We agree, of course, that a statute’s title can inform its meaning, but it","paragraph_id":"para_250"},{"text":"‘cannot override the plain meaning of the underlying text.’” (quoting Brown v. City of","paragraph_id":"para_251"},{"text":"Houston, 660 S.W.3d 749, 754 (Tex. 2023))); Scalia & Garner, supra, at 221–22","paragraph_id":"para_252"},{"text":"(“The title and headings are permissible indicators of meaning” so long as they are","paragraph_id":"para_253"},{"text":"consistent with “the plain words of a text.”).","paragraph_id":"para_254"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 8 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_255"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_256"},{"text":"9","paragraph_id":"para_257"},{"text":"The district court found the 1986 Ordinance unclear because its body","paragraph_id":"para_258","court_paragraph":9},{"text":"does not expressly address the shoreline properties’ jurisdictional status. It","paragraph_id":"para_259"},{"text":"also suggested that the Ordinance might violate the Texas Constitution’s","paragraph_id":"para_260"},{"text":"requirement that all property taxation be “equal and uniform.”33 But the","paragraph_id":"para_261"},{"text":"district court did not apply ordinary rules of statutory construction to","paragraph_id":"para_262"},{"text":"determine what the 1986 Ordinance means. Nor did it decide whether the","paragraph_id":"para_263"},{"text":"1986 Ordinance is “fairly subject” to a construction that violates the Texas","paragraph_id":"para_264"},{"text":"Constitution.34","paragraph_id":"para_265"},{"text":"We need not resolve those state-law disputes. Whatever the 1986","paragraph_id":"para_266"},{"text":"Ordinance means, the Homeowners’ equal-protection claim does not turn on","paragraph_id":"para_267"},{"text":"it—so its meaning cannot control the Pullman question before us.","paragraph_id":"para_268"},{"text":"The Homeowners claim that Austin taxes their properties as if they","paragraph_id":"para_269"},{"text":"were within its full-purpose jurisdiction but denies them the services that go","paragraph_id":"para_270"},{"text":"with that status.35 Whether they can recover back taxes or obtain","paragraph_id":"para_271"},{"text":"disannexation may affect their state-law claims and remedies. But those","paragraph_id":"para_272"},{"text":"questions do not answer whether the Fourteenth Amendment permits","paragraph_id":"para_273"},{"text":"Austin to impose those taxes while withholding those services.","paragraph_id":"para_274"},{"text":"The district court disagreed. It reasoned that the equal-protection","paragraph_id":"para_275"},{"text":"claim “would be rendered moot by a state-court determination that, under","paragraph_id":"para_276"},{"text":"state law . . . the provision of municipal services to the shoreline properties","paragraph_id":"para_277"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_278"},{"text":"33 Tex. Const. art. VIII, § 1(a).","paragraph_id":"para_279"},{"text":"34 Harman, 380 U.S. at 535. The Texas Constitution forbids municipalities from","paragraph_id":"para_280"},{"text":"imposing taxes except as “authorized by law or by their charters.” Tex. Const. art. XI,","paragraph_id":"para_281"},{"text":"§ 5(a). Texas law also prohibits cities from taxing property in their limited-purpose","paragraph_id":"para_282"},{"text":"jurisdiction, see, e.g., Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 43.130(c), presumably reflecting the","paragraph_id":"para_283"},{"text":"Legislature’s judgment that cities cannot tax residents they cannot serve. The district court","paragraph_id":"para_284"},{"text":"did not address either provision.","paragraph_id":"para_285"},{"text":"35 See U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1 (“[N]or shall any State . . . deny to any","paragraph_id":"para_286"},{"text":"person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”).","paragraph_id":"para_287"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 9 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_288"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_289"},{"text":"10","paragraph_id":"para_290"},{"text":"was not required here.” But whether Texas law required the City to provide","paragraph_id":"para_291","court_paragraph":10},{"text":"those services is a different question from whether the Fourteenth","paragraph_id":"para_292"},{"text":"Amendment lets the City tax without providing them.36 Pullman therefore","paragraph_id":"para_293"},{"text":"does not apply.","paragraph_id":"para_294"},{"text":"We do not decide whether the Homeowners will prevail on their","paragraph_id":"para_295"},{"text":"equal-protection claim. We hold only that Pullman abstention was not a","paragraph_id":"para_296"},{"text":"proper basis for declining to decide it. If the claim fails, the district court can","paragraph_id":"para_297"},{"text":"say so on the merits.","paragraph_id":"para_298"},{"text":"The district court dismissed the entire case on Pullman grounds","paragraph_id":"para_299"},{"text":"without reaching the City’s other defenses. But because Pullman does not","paragraph_id":"para_300"},{"text":"permit abstention on the equal-protection claim, the judgment cannot stand.","paragraph_id":"para_301"},{"text":"We therefore reverse and remand the entire case.37","paragraph_id":"para_302"},{"text":"* * *","paragraph_id":"para_303"},{"text":"The Homeowners filed this suit in January 2021. It is still at the","paragraph_id":"para_304"},{"text":"pleading stage. The district court has twice dismissed it on threshold grounds","paragraph_id":"para_305"},{"text":"without reaching the City’s remaining defenses or the merits. We reversed","paragraph_id":"para_306"},{"text":"the first dismissal in substantial part. We reverse the second today. Three","paragraph_id":"para_307"},{"text":"grounds remain undecided: the political-question doctrine, Burford","paragraph_id":"para_308"},{"text":"abstention, and Rule 12(b)(6).","paragraph_id":"para_309"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_310"},{"text":"36 See McNeese v. Bd. of Ed. for Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. 187, 373 U.S. 668, 674 (1963)","paragraph_id":"para_311"},{"text":"(“[P]etitioners assert that respondents have been and are depriving them of rights","paragraph_id":"para_312"},{"text":"protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. It is immaterial whether respondents’ conduct","paragraph_id":"para_313"},{"text":"is legal or illegal as a matter of state law.”).","paragraph_id":"para_314"},{"text":"37 See Batterman v. Leahy, 544 F.3d 370, 375–76 (1st Cir. 2008) (remanding the","paragraph_id":"para_315"},{"text":"entire case to the district court for further proceedings after concluding that “no single","paragraph_id":"para_316"},{"text":"abstention doctrine, or probably any combination of them, would justify abstention for all","paragraph_id":"para_317"},{"text":"of the counts”) (emphasis added).","paragraph_id":"para_318"},{"text":"Case: 25-50160 Document: 88-1 Page: 10 Date Filed: 09/15/2026","paragraph_id":"para_319"},{"text":"No. 25-50160","paragraph_id":"para_320"},{"text":"11","paragraph_id":"para_321"},{"text":"The Homeowners ask us to remand with instructions to reach the","paragraph_id":"para_322","court_paragraph":11},{"text":"merits. We decline because “we are a court of review, not first view.”38 We","paragraph_id":"para_323"},{"text":"express no view on the City’s remaining grounds for dismissal. On remand,","paragraph_id":"para_324"},{"text":"the district court should address those grounds in the first instance—and","paragraph_id":"para_325"},{"text":"together, rather than send this case back to us one threshold issue at a time.","paragraph_id":"para_326"},{"text":"As to Burford, we note only that abstention remains a narrow exception to the","paragraph_id":"para_327"},{"text":"“virtually unflagging obligation” of federal courts to exercise the jurisdiction","paragraph_id":"para_328"},{"text":"Congress has given them.39","paragraph_id":"para_329"},{"text":"IV. Conclusion","paragraph_id":"para_330"},{"text":"This case is not moot. S.B. 1844 neither refunds the Homeowners’","paragraph_id":"para_331"},{"text":"taxes nor automatically disannexes their properties, so they retain a concrete","paragraph_id":"para_332"},{"text":"stake in the validity of the 2019 Ordinance.","paragraph_id":"para_333"},{"text":"The district court erred in abstaining under Pullman. No matter how","paragraph_id":"para_334"},{"text":"the 1986 Ordinance is read, the Homeowners’ federal equal-protection claim","paragraph_id":"para_335"},{"text":"does not depend on resolving a disputed question of Texas law. The district","paragraph_id":"para_336"},{"text":"court should have decided it.","paragraph_id":"para_337"},{"text":"We REVERSE the district court’s judgment and REMAND for","paragraph_id":"para_338"},{"text":"consideration of the City’s remaining grounds for dismissal.","paragraph_id":"para_339"},{"text":"_____________________","paragraph_id":"para_340"},{"text":"38 Ficher v. 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