Natalie Lapsley/THE RIDER
The City of Brownsville has filed a pleading in the 444th State District Court, objecting to a judicial site visit from the court to Milwhite Inc., according to documents The Rider received from the city.
Filed April 24, the pleading states a site visit from the court “suggests bias in favor of Defendants … jeopardizes the constitutional right to open courts … diminishes public confidence in the judiciary, and may open the door to ex parte communications.”
As previously reported by The Rider, a lawsuit filed Feb. 16 by the city alleges the mineral refinery is in violation of various codes and is seeking a temporary restraining order, a temporary injunction and a permanent injunction.
The city alleges Milwhite has failed to correct plat, zoning, site and building code violations.
Residents living behind the refinery have reported dust emissions and health issues because of the minerals, according to the lawsuit.
The pleading states the city has filed three motions for entry of temporary injunction and has now filed a fourth.
It also reads that the undersigned now understands “that the Court will not conduct hearings on the City’s pending motions … until the Court conducts a visit of the real property and facilities at issue.”
The document states deviation from the legal standard “constitutes an abuse of discretion” and that the court must enjoin the violations.
Milwhite seems to desire “closed-door proceedings” and this does not outweigh the right to open-court proceedings, the city states.
The pleading states the visit may present “boundless opportunities for ex parte communications” or communications from one party only.
If the court were to move forward with a visit to Milwhite, the city has listed moves for parameters and objectives of the site visit.
Some of the objectives include the date and time, duration and whether the visit will be open to the public.
The city states it continues to receive complaints regarding the mineral refinery’s operations.
The Rider reached out to Assistant City Attorney Lena Chaisson-Muñoz, but she declined to comment.
The newspaper called 444th State District Judge David Sanchez’ office on Thursday afternoon, but the call has not been returned.
This morning, The Rider called the law office of Milwhite attorneys Dennis Sanchez and Hector Picazo and was told they were unavailable.
