A Win for the East End: Court Rules Against Illegal Port Expansion
Cobb & Johns and the Institute for Justice Secure a Landmark Appellate Victory, Vindicating a Family’s Property Rights Against Port Freeport’s Land Grab
We’re Pleased to Share a Major Win for Our Clients and the East End Community.
In April, we told you here about Port Freeport’s decades-long attempt to wipe out a historically Black neighborhood called the East End.
Today, we’re proud to share that Texas’s 14th Court of Appeals handed down a decisive victory for residents of the East End neighborhood in Jones v. Port Freeport. Our firm and the Institute for Justice are honored to represent Mr. Jones and the Marshall family. And we’re thrilled the court of appeals took the rare step of reversing the trial court’s ruling on the Port’s power to take our clients’ land.
At stake for Mr. Jones and the Marshalls was something fundamental to all Texans: the right to keep land that had been in their family for generations against being taken for private convenience disguised as public necessity. Port Freeport tried to justify condemning our clients’ land with vague promises of “economic development” and “business expansion.” In fact, during the deposition (sworn testimony) of the Port’s CEO, the Port admitted it had no “specific plans for what will be developed on any particular property within the area of the project.” In other words, the Port wanted to take the land first and then figure out what to do with it later.
The court of appeals rightly rejected that approach. As Justice Katy Boatman wrote for the appellate court, the Texas Constitution and Property Code require the government to “state with specificity the public use for which the entity intends to acquire the property.” Texas law does not allow land to be taken on speculation or for the primary benefit of private businesses. Port Freeport’s broad, generic assertions that it planned to expand the port were not enough. A specific plan for a particular public use of this specific land was required.
This Decision Reinforces Two Critical Principles:
The government cannot take property for private gain. Condemnations must serve a true public use—not just the possibility of future commercial activity that might benefit the community. And taking property from one private citizen and giving it to another private actor for economic development is never a public use under Texas law..
Communities and individual landowners deserve transparency and accountability. Before property is seized, the condemning authority must explain clearly what it intends to build on that property and how the proposed taking would serve the public.
For Mr. Jones and the rest of the Marshall family, this ruling is more than a legal precedent—it’s a recognition of their voices, their homes, and their history. Before the Port’s decades-long history of improper takings, the East End was the cornerstone of Freeport’s Black community. The Court’s decision affirms that its residents and their property rights should not have been erased based on vague promises of future economic development. As the court of appeals put it: “The Constitution does not condone this take now, plan later approach.”
The sad reality is that the Port’s illegal actions destroyed this community, and this court decision won’t bring back the East End neighborhood. But this case—and the principles it stands for—may prevent the destruction of other communities in the future.
Pam Tilley, a member of the Marshall family and a leader in the battle against the Port’s taking, has seen firsthand how the Port’s actions have impacted her family and community: “This matter went well beyond money. Many people have been inconvenienced and caused to suffer as a result of it. The Port has no regard for what they did.”
We Won this Round, but the Fight Is Not Finished.
The case now returns to the trial court, where Port Freeport will have to either specify a lawful public use or dismiss its condemnation case. But, for today, the Marshall family has taken a huge step in protecting the legacy of the East End and holding government power accountable—not just for this one neighborhood in Freeport, but for communities across Texas and the rest of the country.
Our firm is grateful for the opportunity to work together with the Institute for Justice to protect the Marshall family and the rule of law. Cobb & Johns PLLC remains committed to defending property owners against government overreach.
