Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation

December 11, 2007
OFB wins improper annexation lawsuit

Attachments:

filed petition for declaratory judgement 04 04 07.pdf

On April 4, 2007, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and three landowners filed a lawsuit in Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Inc., et al., v. The City of Durant stating the City of Durant illegally and improperly strip annexed property in 2005. In the Petition for Declaratory Judgment, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare the annexing ordinance invalid and unenforceable because it violated Oklahoma law and does not comply with the statutory requirements for annexation.
The City had annexed strips of land 20 feet wide and several miles long in order to create a boundary to prevent the town of Calera from growing closer to it. In response to the lawsuit, the City passed an ordinance to de-annex the territory at issue. On December 11, 2007, the Bryan County judge issued summary judgement for OFB and the landowers.