Sec. 42.21. PETITION FOR REVIEW. (a) A party who appeals as provided by this chapter must file a petition for review with the district court within 60 days after the party received notice that a final order has been entered from which an appeal may be had or at any time after the hearing but before the 60-day deadline. Failure to timely file a petition bars any appeal under this chapter.

(b) A petition for review brought under Section 42.02 must be brought against the owner of the property involved in the appeal. A petition for review brought under Section 42.031 must be brought against the appraisal district and against the owner of the property involved in the appeal. A petition for review brought under Section 42.01(a)(2) or 42.03 must be brought against the comptroller. Any other petition for review under this chapter must be brought against the appraisal district. A petition for review may not be brought against the appraisal review board. An appraisal district may hire an attorney that represents the district to represent the appraisal review board established for the district to file an answer and obtain a dismissal of a suit filed against the appraisal review board in violation of this subsection.

(c) If an appeal under this chapter is pending when the appraisal review board issues an order in a subsequent year under a protest by the same property owner and that protest relates to the same property that is involved in the pending appeal, the property owner may appeal the subsequent appraisal review board order by amending the original petition for the pending appeal to include the grounds for appealing the subsequent order. The amended petition must be filed with the court in the period provided by Subsection (a) for filing a petition for review of the subsequent order. A property owner may appeal the subsequent appraisal review board order under this subsection or may appeal the order independently of the pending appeal as otherwise provided by this section, but may not do both. A property owner may change the election of remedies provided by this subsection at any time before the end of the period provided by Subsection (a) for filing a petition for review.

(d) An appraisal district is served by service on the chief appraiser at any time or by service on any other officer or employee of the appraisal district present at the appraisal office at a time when the appraisal office is open for business with the public. An appraisal review board is served by service on the chairman of the appraisal review board. Citation of a party is issued and served in the manner provided by law for civil suits generally.

(e) A petition that is timely filed under Subsection (a) or amended under Subsection (c) may be subsequently amended to:

(1) correct or change the name of a party; or

(2) not later than the 120th day before the date of trial, identify or describe the property originally involved in the appeal.

(f) A petition filed by an owner or lessee of property may include multiple properties that are owned or leased by the same person and are of a similar type or are part of the same economic unit and would typically sell as a single property. If a petition is filed by multiple plaintiffs or includes multiple properties that are not of a similar type, are not part of the same economic unit, or are part of the same economic unit but would not typically sell as a single property, the court may on motion and a showing of good cause sever the plaintiffs or the properties.

(g) A petition filed by an owner or lessee of property may be amended to include additional properties in the same county that are owned or leased by the same person, are of a similar type as the property originally involved in the appeal or are part of the same economic unit as the property originally involved in the appeal and would typically sell as a single property, and are the subject of an appraisal review board order issued in the same year as the order that is the subject of the original appeal. The amendment must be filed within the period during which a petition for review of the appraisal review board order pertaining to the additional properties would be required to be filed under Subsection (a).

(h) The court has jurisdiction over an appeal under this chapter brought on behalf of a property owner or lessee and the owner or lessee is considered to have exhausted the owner's or lessee's administrative remedies regardless of whether the petition correctly identifies the plaintiff as the owner or lessee of the property or correctly describes the property so long as the property was the subject of an appraisal review board order, the petition was filed within the period required by Subsection (a), and the petition provides sufficient information to identify the property that is the subject of the petition. Whether the plaintiff is the proper party to bring the petition or whether the property needs to be further identified or described must be addressed by means of a special exception and correction of the petition by amendment as authorized by Subsection (e) and may not be the subject of a plea to the jurisdiction or a claim that the plaintiff has failed to exhaust the plaintiff's administrative remedies. If the petition is amended to add a plaintiff, the court on motion shall enter a docket control order to provide proper deadlines in response to the addition of the plaintiff.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2311, ch. 841, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5344, ch. 981, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 29, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 760, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 796, Sec. 44, eff. June 15, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 6, Sec. 54, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1113, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 905 (H.B. 986), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 771 (H.B. 1887), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 161 (S.B. 1093), Sec. 19.006, eff. September 1, 2013.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1259 (H.B. 585), Sec. 25, eff. June 14, 2013.