MARFIL v. CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS TEXAS (2023)

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Rafael MARFIL; Verge Productions, L.L.C.; Enrico Marfil; Naomi Marfil; Korey A. Rholack; Daniel Olveda; Douglas Wayne Mathes, Plaintiffs—Appellants, v. CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS, Defendant—Appellee.

No. 22-50908

Decided: June 16, 2023

Before Jones, Clement, and Haynes, Circuit Judges.1

Chance Weldon, Austin, TX, Robert E. Henneke, Christian G. Townsend, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Austin, TX, James Patrick Sutton, Law Office of J. Patrick Sutton, Bellingham, WA, for Plaintiffs—Appellants. Ryan D. V. Greene, Terrill & Waldrop, Austin, TX, for Defendant—Appellee. Sam Spiegelman, Esq., Pacific Legal Foundation, Seattle, WA, for Amicus Curiae Pacific Legal Foundation. Ilya Shapiro, Esq., Manhattan Institute, New York, NY, for Amicus Curiae Manhattan Institute. Sam Spiegelman, Esq., Pacific Legal Foundation, Seattle, WA, Manuel Stuart Klausner, Law Offices of Manuel S. Klausner, Los Angeles, CA, for Amicus Curiae Reason Foundation. Elizabeth Sanz, Attorney, Institute for Justice, Arlington, VA, Arif Panju, Institute for Justice, Texas Chapter, Austin, TX, for Amicus Curiae Institute for Justice. Jay Remington Schweikert, Cato Institute, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae Cato Institute.

Plaintiffs here appeal the Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of their complaint alleging that the City of New Braunfels's zoning regulation banning short-term rentals of residential properties in certain areas of the city is unconstitutional. The district court ordered dismissal by approving a few conclusory paragraphs in a magistrate judge's recommendation. This court's relevant case law, however, indicates that some factual development may often occur in these cases, and that summary judgment may often follow. See, e.g., Mahone v. Addicks Util. Dist., 836 F.2d 921, 935–37 (5th Cir. 1988). We make no prediction on the future course of this case, but based on the complaint's well-pled allegations, plaintiffs are entitled to engage in discovery in an attempt to surmount the currently high bar for challenging local zoning ordinances under the Constitution.

VACATED and REMANDED.

Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge:

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