The opinion
Supreme Court of Texas
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No. 24-0339
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Webb Consolidated Independent School District,
Petitioner,
v.
Robert Marshall and Amy Marshall,
Respondents
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On Petition for Review from the
Court of Appeals for the Fourth District of Texas
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JUSTICE HAWKINS, joined by Justice Young and Justice Sullivan,
concurring.
I join the Court’s opinion. I write separately to underscore the
Court’s observation that a party does not “prevail” for the purposes of
recovering attorney’s fees merely by obtaining a temporary injunction.
Temporary injunctions exist to preserve the status quo based in part on
the trial court’s prediction as to who might prevail in the future. If that
prediction does not come true for any reason, the plaintiff does not
“prevail.”
So why are the plaintiffs here entitled to prevailing-party status?
Because the so-called “temporary injunction” issued by the trial court
was not actually a temporary injunction. This case presents an unusual
statutory scheme designed to promote transparency in government by
expanding access to information. The injunctive relief this statute
authorizes functions as ultimate relief because once information is
disclosed, as the Court aptly puts it, “there is no putting the genie back
in the bottle.” Ante at 13. And a “temporary” injunction under this
statute does not preserve the status quo, but permanently alters it. See
Lackey v. Stinnie, 604 U.S. 192, 200 (2025). Accordingly, when the trial
court ordered the defendants to disclose certain information, and
defendants complied, the plaintiffs obtained ultimate relief.
Future litigants and courts should take care not to misread
today’s opinion. Other fee-shifting statutes may function very differently
from Section 11.1512 of the Texas Education Code. Nothing in today’s
opinion should be read to suggest that anything short of a final judgment
entitles a plaintiff to prevailing-party status.
Kyle D. Hawkins
Justice
OPINION FILED: April 24, 2026
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