Aaron Rents, Inc. v. Travis Central Appraisal District

Today, a majority of this Court eviscerates the longstanding distinction between that which the legislature has deemed mandatory and that which the legislature has left to the trial court’s discretion. Although the majority correctly concludes that an award of attorney’s fees is not required under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act,1 the majority misinterprets the phrase “may be awarded” in section 42.29 of the tax code to require a mandatory award of attorney’s fees to a prevailing party. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.29 (West 2001). Because neither the plain language of section 42.29,…