State District Judge Tad Halbach has ruled that the Montrose local management district must reimburse money collected from commercial property owners. The judge ruled the original petition allowing the West Montrose Management District to begin making assessments didn't comply with state law, declaring the 'total amount of the assessment is void.' No dollar amount was stated.

The issue comes down to the signatures needed on the state-required petition to begin making assessments. Twenty-five commercial property owners are needed. The court found while the petition had 26 signatures, some were residential property owners who are not assessed, invalidating the petition and assessments.

The ruling is the latest in an ongoing lawsuit initially filed in 2012 by commercial property owners in Montrose. On Friday, the management district told the Houston Chronicle it was limited on how it could respond because of ongoing litigation, telling reporters, "until a final judgment is entered in this case, the district will continue to assert its position that the assessment petition was valid and that the district is in compliance with all laws relating to its assessment on property owners." [Chron]