Date Filed: January 23, 2023
Original Court: 14th District Court (Dallas County)
Appeals: Texas Court of Appeals, Fifth District; Supreme Court of Texas
Case Status: On Appeal to the Texas Supreme Court
Between 2020 and 2021, the Seay Tennis Center—a state-of-the-art tennis center owned by Highland Park Independent School District (HPISD)—experienced a jump in revenue of over one million dollars. Unfortunately, this was not due to the Tennis Center’s improved performance, but rather, was likely due to the nefarious actions of those running the tennis center prior to 2021 where these employees were pocketing money in order to enrich themselves off of those using the tennis center.
In response to public pressure, HPISD asked Whitely Penn, a public accounting firm, to investigate how much money was directed away from Highland Park and into the pockets of a few employees. However, once Whitely Penn created its investigative report, Highland Park has done everything it can to prevent the public from finding out what really happened and has refused to turn over a copy of the report.
TPPF sued HPISD under the Texas Public Information Act to force HPISD to disclose the investigative report. The public deserves to see what was going on at the Tennis Center. HPISD’s attempts to hide embarrassing information goes against the core ideas of sunshine laws and open, honest government.
Case Documents:
Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment
Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment
Trial Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law