Aaron Rents, Inc. v. Travis Central Appraisal District

In response to appellants motion for rehearing en banc, we grant the motion, withdraw our opinion and judgment issued on March 23, 2006, and substitute the following opinion. Aaron Rents, Inc., a furniture rental corporation, appeals a district courts judgment that denied its claim for attorneys fees in connection with its successful declaratory judgment action against the Travis Central Appraisal District. Aaron Rentss suit alleged that the District exceeded its statutory authority by "re-appraising" the tangible personal property at Aaron Rentss four locations after the District had certified the propertys appraised value to the tax collector. In two issues, Aaron Rents claims that it is entitled to the fees under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act and the tax code. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 37.009 (West 1997); Tex. Tax Code Ann. §§ 42.25, .29 (West 2001). Because we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Aaron Rents the attorneys fees it requested under the declaratory judgments act, we affirm that portion of the courts judgment. However, because we conclude that the district court abused its discretion by denying Aaron Rents the attorneys fees it requested under the tax code, we reverse and remand that portion of the courts judgment.