Society of Engineers Lacks Standing to Sue State Architecture Board
In a longstanding dispute over which agency has the authority to regulate engineers, the Austin Court of Appeals recently held that the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (Society) lacked standing to bring suit against the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners (Board) on behalf of its members because it failed to meet the test for associational standing. The court of appeals applied the test set forth by the Texas Supreme Court in Texas Association of Business v. Texas Air Control Board:
[A]n association has standing to sue on behalf of its members when (a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization's purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.
Because the Society failed the third prong, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal for lack of standing. The court of appeals' opinion in Texas Society of Professional Engineers v. Texas Board of Architectural Examiners can be found at this link.
