D.R. Horton Federal Lawsuit Against Rockwall County Advances With New Deposition Notice

D.R. Horton-Texas Ltd. and DMDS Land Company LLC moved their federal lawsuit against Rockwall County forward on March 20, filing a notice to take the deposition of Charisa Hauser in the case styled DMDS Land Company LLC et al. v. Rockwall County et al. Attorney Arthur Anderson filed the notice at 4:54 p.m., marking the first substantive discovery step documented on the federal docket since the case was initiated last summer.

The deposition notice is the 13th docket entry in a case that has moved deliberately since its July 2025 filing. Summonses were issued July 21 to Rockwall County and five named individuals: Bobby Gallana, Lorne Liechty, Dana Macalik, Frank New, and John Stacy. A stipulation accepting service and setting a responsive pleading deadline followed three days later. Rockwall County attorney Christopher Allen Klement entered his appearance on September 29, 2025, and the plaintiffs filed a certificate of service on October 10. Hauser's deposition notice represents the case's first documented discovery filing.

The federal lawsuit is the second of two suits D.R. Horton has filed against the county. The Arlington-based builder filed the first in state court; the federal case, the more recent of the two, alleges the county is discriminating against affordable housing projects. D.R. Horton argues that Rockwall County has imposed restrictive infrastructure and road requirements that effectively block new residential development. In a statement, a company spokesperson said D.R. Horton has complied with all local and state requirements and accused the county of exceeding its legal authority.

The dispute also turns on the role of Municipal Utility Districts, known as MUDs, which allow developers to create special-purpose districts with state approval, often over the objections of local counties. Rockwall County Judge Frank New, who is named as an individual defendant in the federal summons, has framed the litigation as a fight over the county's right to resist the expansion of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

"We want to be the oasis against the urban sprawl that is the metroplex," New said. He accuses D.R. Horton of trying to circumvent local authority rather than work within it. "I want people to come develop," New said. "You just gotta be a good neighbor. You can't come in and overrun infrastructure."

New has pressed for greater county-level authority at the state Capitol without success and now sees the courts as the arena where that authority will be tested. His assessment of the stakes extends well beyond Rockwall County's borders. "The entire state is watching this. I mean, there's going to be ripples statewide," he said.

The federal case is assigned under standard civil procedures, with the clerk's office having previously provided plaintiffs notice of their right to consent to proceed before U.S. Magistrate Judge Horan. With Hauser's deposition now noticed, both sides appear to be entering the discovery phase that will shape whether the case reaches trial or settlement.