Olmos v. Pecan Grove Municipal Utility District

In Olmos v. Pecan Grove Municipal Utility District, 857 S.W.2d 734, 740 (Tex. App.--Houston 14th Dist. 1993, no writ) the court of appeals held that the holder of title to utility facilities was entitled to the construction costs reimbursement for those facilities from the Municipal Utility District that agreed to buy the facilities when constructed. In that opinion, the court explained that title to the facilities had not been severed from the land otherwise conveyed, and thus, the right to reimbursement of the construction costs passed to the current property owner and did not remain with the original developer. Id. at 738-40. In Olmos v. Pecan Grove Municipal Utility District, 857 S.W.2d 734, 740 (Tex.App.-Houston 14th Dist. 1993, no writ), the original developer, Edward D. Guttman, contracted with the Pecan Grove MUD to construct utility facilities for a subdivision he was developing. Id. at 736-37. Guttman assigned his right to payment under his MUD contract to Jose Zavala Olmos. Id. at 737. But before Guttman conveyed the property to the Pecan Grove MUD, he defaulted on his loan, and his lender, American General Investment Corporation, foreclosed on his property. Id. Pecan Grove Associates bought the property from American General, and when Pecan Grove Associates conveyed the utility facilities to the Pecan Grove MUD, Olmos asserted his claim to the MUD proceeds. Id. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals concluded that Pecan Grove Associates owned the MUD payments, reasoning that the right Olmos asserted is "a contract right to the MUD proceeds by virtue of his assignment under the Guttman/MUD Sales Agreement." Id. at 738. And Olmos's assigned right "depended on Guttman's performance under the MUD Sales Agreement." Id. at 740. Because Guttman lost title through foreclosure proceedings, he could not deliver title to the Pecan Grove MUD, resulting in a breach of his MUD contract. Therefore, the Pecan Grove MUD was not obligated to pay Olmos. Id.