Appeals Court: Rockport-Fulton ISD Can’t Block Hurricane Repair Suit

Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals (Corpus Christi-Edinburg)
Ruling: An ISD can’t avoid being sued over unpaid Hurricane Harvey repair bills.

• Rockport-Fulton ISD v. Northstar Recovery Services, Inc., No. 13-25-00168-CV ($). Issued March 12, 2026.

Background

Northstar Recovery Services Inc. (Northstar) sued Rockport-Fulton ISD (RFISD) for breach of contract on a claim that the district had not fully paid the company for repair work on the district’s facilities resulting from Hurricane Harvey in late August 2017. (RFISD — which was then Aransas County ISD — suffered devastating destruction to its facilities as a result of the hurricane.)

RFISD counterargued that the lawsuit must be dismissed because the district enjoys state-law-granted governmental immunity from being sued over Northstar’s claims because the district (either via the board or via delegated authority to the superintendent) never executed a contract with Northstar to perform the work.