On June 12, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court cleared a repurchase claim by JRJ Pusok Holdings over a parcel in Tomball, allowing the case to move forward despite the state’s sovereign immunity stance.
The land, originally owned by Joyce Hutcherson, Rudolph Pusok and Jimmie Pusok, was seized in 2014 for a highway expansion, with the state paying $681,705 after a settlement.
When the highway’s alignment shifted in 2017, the Department of Transportation earmarked part of the property as surplus but refused to sell it back to the former owners.
JRJ Pusok Holdings sued the state and the Right of Way Division, asserting that the surplus land qualified for a statutory repurchase right under Texas Property Code Chapter 21; the trial court initially dismissed it.
The Fourteenth District Court of Appeals overturned that dismissal, ruling sovereign immunity could not bar the claim, and the Supreme Court affirmed, noting that eminent domain acquisitions can be repurchased if no longer needed.
The case is now back in the trial court for further proceedings, with the state facing a decision on whether to sell the unused parcel or confront a judicial determination of the owners’ repurchase rights.