HOUSTON – The First Court of Appeals recently affirmed an award of more than $96,000 against Waller County, who sued a private citizen for complaining that the county was unlawfully banning firearms from its government building.
The First Court initially ruled on the case back in March 2018, finding then that Terry Holcomb Sr., the executive director of Texas Carry, had a constitutional right to send a letter to Waller County asking it to comply with Texas’ open carry laws without fear of a retaliatory and meritless lawsuit.
The case caught the attention of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a brief in the case and openly applauded the ruling.
Waller County unsuccessfully fought the ruling all the way up to the Supreme Court. When the case was remanded back to the trial court, a visiting judge rendered judgment for Holcomb in the amount of $71,537.50 in attorney’s fees and $25,000 in sanctions.
Waller County once again appealed and on Nov. 17 justices found that sovereign immunity does not preclude Waller County’s liability for attorney’s fees and sanctions.
Case background
When Waller County issued a ban on licensed gun carriers from bringing firearms into the courthouse, Holcomb complained.
Holcomb's complaint maintained the gun ban should extend to individual courtrooms, not the entire Waller County Courthouse.
When the county responded by suing him, Holcomb made a complaint to Paxton’s office, prompting the attorney general to file a lawsuit of his own against Waller County in August 2016 to bring the county into compliance with the state’s licensed carry laws.
The lawsuit sought to require the county to allow citizens to lawfully carry firearms in areas of the Waller County government building that contain non-judicial county administrative offices.
Appeals case No.01-20-00163-CV