Late, but Deserved Congratulation

I have neglected my blog due to a long-deserved vacation, and the work that piled up while I was gone.  On the vacation front, I went to the Florida Keys, and fished for Eagle Rays.  Our captain was quite expert at guiding us in this venture, and I was quite successful.  I returned to learn that a lady had died doing the same thing in almost precisely the same area of the Keys.

But, before I left, I collected an article about a case at the Texas Supreme Court that hasn't been mentioned on any Baylor Law blog that I could find.  In El Paso Hospital District v. Texas Health & Human Services, the Court invalidated an agency rule about the submission of Medicaid claims.   The Agency had not followed the rulemaking requirements of the Texas Administrative Procedures Act, according to the opinion.  But, the judgment of the Court did not enjoin enforcement of the rule.

After the initial unanimous opinion, your Professor - Ron Beal - wrote a letter to the Court as an amicus curaie  noting that the opinion did not say that the Agency tried to follow the rule-making process in good faith.  Instead, the Court found the rule to be a nullity, and therefore, the Agency was not entitled to "cure" the rule - the Court should render judgment enjoining enforcement of the Rule.  The Court followed Professor Beal's advice on that issue and on several other issues that he mentioned in his letter.

Good Job - Professor Beal.