Rockwall Judge Keeps D.R. Horton Growth Cost Lawsuit Alive

D.R. Horton's offer to cover infrastructure for River Rock Trails came to $338,867 for road improvements and $529,424 for two new deputy sheriff positions, a combined $868,291 for the project's first 418-home phase, or roughly $2,077 per door. On March 31, the 382nd Judicial District Court ruled that Rockwall County does not have to accept it.

Retired Chief Justice Carolyn Wright denied D.R. Horton's amended motion for partial summary judgment in Cause No. 1-25-1000, blocking the nation's largest homebuilder from short-circuiting the court's review of how infrastructure costs are divided between developer and county. The ruling does not resolve the underlying case, but it preserves the county's ability to litigate its countywide apportionment methodology and immediately triggers a hard deadline for both sides.

Under the court's order, D.R. Horton and Rockwall County must agree on a mediator and submit a scheduling order covering discovery deadlines, expert designations, and a trial date no later than April 20. County Judge Frank New called the decision "monumental" and said the county "looks forward to presenting the full merits of its case before the Court."

The development at the center of the dispute sits on approximately 1,867 acres of unincorporated southern Rockwall County near McLendon-Chisholm. D.R. Horton entered a purchase contract with land seller DMDS Land Company for the property, submitted preliminary plats for an initial 85-acre, 418-home buildout in two phases, and was denied. At full buildout, River Rock Trails could reach roughly 6,000 homes, making it comparable in scale to dropping an entire small city onto unincorporated county land.

Who funds that city's roads, drainage, and law enforcement is precisely the question the court is now being asked to settle. The county's apportionment methodology calculates the developer's share based on countywide impact, a figure officials argue far exceeds D.R. Horton's cash offers. If D.R. Horton prevails and the court limits the county's authority to something close to what was already on the table, the gap between those numbers and actual infrastructure costs would fall on the county's general fund, paid by existing taxpayers. If the county's position holds, the developer absorbs a substantially larger share before a single home closes.

McLendon-Chisholm Mayor Bryan McNeal, whose city borders the River Rock Trails site, has not been subtle about what happens when that math goes wrong. "When they build these developments, when they're done, they leave," McNeal said. "They leave behind the residents who are in the surrounding areas as well as the city that they just dropped in and the governments have to figure it out."

The lawsuit originated when Rockwall County denied D.R. Horton's preliminary plat applications and D.R. Horton sued on June 12 of last year, challenging the county's authority to impose infrastructure cost conditions under Chapter 232 of the Texas Local Government Code. A separate federal case involving the same development is expected to move forward later this year. If the state case reaches trial, the verdict could reshape how Texas boomtown counties negotiate the growth bill with large-volume builders across the region.