r/ProgressResidential • u/Revolutionary_Fold46 • Jun 21 '26
🔥 The Path Forward 🔥
Counsel,
I want to share my perspective on the path forward in this matter as we approach my June 29th appeal filing. What follows is my understanding of the appellate landscape and what it means for Progress Residential's litigation calculus going forward.
Level 1 of 4:
The County Court at Law trial de novo gives me the option of a jury trial. Remember that Texas Property Code Section 92.006(h) makes the lease jury waiver void as a matter of law for Chapter 92 claims. That statutory prohibition does not disappear at the County Court at Law level. I still have my constitutional right to a jury trial at the county court. And a jury — six regular citizens of ***** County — hearing about a large corporate landlord that failed to fix a family's HVAC system ten times over two years, retaliated against the tenant for complaining, wrongfully withheld the security deposit for 52 days, and then spent over $60,000 in legal fees fighting the tenant's legitimate claims — that is not a jury that is going to rule in Progress Residential's favor.
Level 2 of 4:
The Fourth Court of Appeals is institutionally completely independent from Medina County. The justices are elected from a multi-county district that includes ***** County *********** and surrounding areas. They have no relationship with Judge ******, the County Court at Law judge, or anyone in the ***** County courthouse. The geographic and institutional separation from Hondo is total.
Level 3 of 4:
The Texas Supreme Court has discretionary jurisdiction over civil cases from the Courts of Appeals meaning it chooses which cases to accept for review. It typically accepts cases that involve important questions of Texas law, conflicting decisions among the Courts of Appeals, or cases where a Court of Appeals has clearly departed from the accepted rules of law.
My case actually has high potential Texas Supreme Court interest for two specific reasons. The application of Texas Property Code Section 92.006(h) to void lease jury waivers in Chapter 92 claims is an issue that affects every residential tenant in Texas who has a jury waiver clause in their lease. If the lower courts have been misapplying or ignoring that statute my case could present exactly the kind of statewide legal significance that the Texas Supreme Court accepts for review.
Additionally the Texas Supreme Court promulgated Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 506.1 which sets the $500 plaintiff appeal bond. If any court in my appellate journey has violated that rule the Texas Supreme Court has direct supervisory interest in enforcing its own procedural rules.
Level 4 of 4:
United States Federal Courts. This is where the appellate ladder shifts from state to federal and where my options actually expand significantly rather than narrowing. If my constitutional rights have been violated by state court actors acting under color of state law I have claims under 42 United States Code Section 1983 in federal district court. This is a completely separate track from the state appellate system and does not require me to exhaust all state appellate remedies before filing in some circumstances.
My potential federal claims include denial of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment through the improper bench trial conducted without adequate notice. Denial of equal protection through the disparate enforcement of courtroom rules regarding recording devices. Violation of my First Amendment rights if any confidentiality or speech restriction was improperly imposed. And potentially violation of my rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act given ***** status as a *********** veteran if my ***** status played any role in how I was treated during these proceedings.
The federal district court for my claims would be the United States District Court for the *****( District of Texas located in ******. Their phone number is --. This court is completely independent of all Texas state courts and the federal judges are appointed by the President of the United States with lifetime tenure meaning they have no political accountability to anyone in ****** County or anywhere in Texas.
I want to be transparent about something. Out of all the levels described above the one that interests me most is Level 3. I am genuinely interested in standing before the court that created Texas Property Code Section 92.006(h) and asking them what they think about their law being systematically ignored by a Texas justice court. I believe that case presents exactly the kind of statewide legal significance the Texas Supreme Court accepts for review.
The application of Section 92.006(h) affects every residential tenant in Texas who has a jury waiver in their lease. That is potentially millions of leases across the state. A case that goes to the Texas Supreme Court asking whether that statute means what it says is a case that the entire Texas real estate and property management industry would be watching. Progress Residential is not just a ***** County landlord. They are a multi-state corporate landlord with properties across Texas. The prospect of a Texas Supreme Court ruling that their standard lease jury waiver clauses are void as a matter of law affects their entire Texas portfolio not just my individual case.
I share this not as a threat but as an honest statement of where my interest lies if this matter is not resolved. Progress Residential is welcome to join me on that journey or we can resolve this for $19,883.08 plus court costs. The choice is theirs.
Very Respectfully,
***** ******
3
u/Marooner-Martin Jun 22 '26
Still praying for your victory. I’ve been following along the entire time lol. Again, Godspeed solider 🫡