Jimmy Glen Riemer v. the State of Texas and Jerry Patterson, as Commissioner of the General Land Office of the State of Texas

Prior to proceeding as a class action, Rule 42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure requires certain prerequisites to be met. In this case, a small group of landowners sought to certify a class composed of all owners of any real property interests in a twelve-mile stretch of land located adjacent to the Canadian River in the Panhandle to litigate alleged takings claims against the State of Texas. The trial court denied certification, finding that the landowners failed to satisfy two of Rule 42(a)’s prerequisites and any one of the three Rule 42(b) requirements. The court of appeals affirmed,…