City of San Benito v. Rio Grande Valley Gas Co.

This class action was brought on behalf of an alleged class of eighty south Texas cities for recovery of franchise fees allegedly owed to them. A number of Texas cities, including the petitioners herein, tried to opt out of the class. Some were successful, but the trial court denied the requests of the seven cities petitioning here and signed a final judgment approving settlement. We must decide whether an unnamed class member must intervene in the trial court in order to appeal its overruled objections to a class settlement and whether a city must hold an open meeting to authorize its…