A settlement is imminent in an open records lawsuit brought by a nonprofit legal group against the city of Progreso, court records indicate.
The Texas Civil Rights Project, or TCRP, filed a lawsuit against the city in September 2020 after filing four written Texas Public Information Act requests with the municipality in the early days of the pandemic following the stay-at-home order issued by Hidalgo County.
TCRP alleged in the lawsuit that the city failed to comply with the Texas Public Information Act when it did not seek a Texas Attorney General’s opinion on whether it was required to release the requested information.
The nonprofit sought multiple records, including records relating to traffic stops, vehicle impoundments, bond information, dash and body cam for traffic stops, arrest records, and policies for the police department and the city.
While the city of Progreso only turned over several pages to the TCRP, a request for arrest records filed with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office showed that police arrested multiple individuals on a single charge of violating the emergency order.
These requests were for information collected by police and the city between March 1 and May 12, 2020.
The parties are scheduled for a final pre-trial hearing Thursday morning followed by a three-day trial in front of 206th state District Judge Rose Guerra Reyna early next week.
However, on Friday, both the TCRP and city of Progreso filed an agreed motion for continuance of that trial, informing the court that a settlement in the case is imminent.
That motion says the parties successfully completed mediation Wednesday and a mediated settlement agreement requires the parties to complete several terms through the month of August.
“Settlement is imminent in this case, and the Parties aim to complete their respective duties under the agreement in the next few months in order to come to an amicable dismissal of the case without the need for a trial,” the motion states.
Since the settlement is pending, the parties are asking that hearings in the case, including the trial, be rescheduled to late October.
