Houston attorneys, ordered to turn over financial and property records to a receiver to seize assets to pay a nearly $300,000 judgment of sanctions and attorney fees, plan to continue fighting the process.

The sanctions came from a lawsuit, Roach v. Ingram, in which the lawyers represented parents who alleged that school district officials and judges serving on the county's juvenile board were running an unconstitutional truancy court to prosecute students who had unexcused absences from school.

The court sanctioned them after finding the litigation was frivolous and brought in bad faith.

Judgment debtors Susan Herbert Soto and Carole Stewart Anhalt, Houston attorneys who played supporting roles in the litigation, said they are planning to research appellate remedies or other legal strategies to keep fighting the judgment.

Meanwhile, Deron R. Harrington, who is responsible for the bulk of the judgment, is attempting to negotiate a settlement with the defendants who won the sanctions, said his attorney, Mynde S. Eisen.

"There are some serious civil rights issues attached to this situation. It's frightening that people who spoke up against two governmental entities have been not only shut down and silenced but stomped on and things turned into a personal attack," Soto said. "That's ending up affecting our families and our financial well being."

judge O'Neil Williams of the 268th District on Wednesday appointed receiver James West of Houston to collect on the judgment.

The attorneys must provide West with four years of financial and property records. The judge also ordered them to pay what they owe under the judgment, using their nonexempt funds and property. Williams ruled that appointing the receiver was necessary because the four attorneys have avoided collection efforts so far, said a Jan. 29 court order in the case.

"Fort Bend ISD is thankful that the court recognized the District has a legitimate interest in collecting the legal fees and sanctions that were awarded to the district following this baseless lawsuit," said a statement by Jason Burdine, president of the Fort Bend County ISD board of trustees. "We agree with the judge's actions, and it is our hope to recoup some of the taxpayer funds expended in response to this litigation."

The main problem with the lawsuit was that the claims were moot from the beginning. Court records show that the county voluntarily suspended its truancy court and dismissed cases against the plaintiffs' children just after Harrington, the lead attorney, shared a draft of the lawsuit with public officials. Also, in 2015, the Texas Legislature transformed truancy from a criminal to a civil matter, which further mooted the attorneys' litigation. It also came out during the litigation that Harrington lacked sufficient evidence to prove his claims, but continued pressing them anyways, court records said.

Soto, one of the sanctioned attorneys, said she disagrees that the litigation was frivolous. It didn't matter that this truancy court had already ended when the litigation started. Fort Bend County had created a "pop-up court" once, and the litigation sought prospective relief to stop the same thing from happening in the future, she explained.

"The Fort Bend ISD trustees and the superintendent, Dr. Dupree, can take everything I own, but they can't reopen the unconstitutional truancy court," Soto said. "I'm going to pay a very stiff penalty for this victory, but in the end, it's a victory for the students in Fort Bend ISD and their families because the court no longer exists."

Anhalt, one of the sanctioned attorneys, said she feels it was improper that former 268th District Judge Brady Elliott, who has since retired, refused to step down from presiding over the case. Elliott was one of the named defendants, sued in his official capacity as a juvenile board member, Anhalt explained.

"They were insulted. In an ultra vires case, someone is challenging their authority," Anhalt said. "Open courts mean you are supposed to be able to litigate your case. We were railroaded."

Ex-attorney Percy Isgitt, who in 2017 resigned his law license in lieu of discipline, is also responsible for part of the judgment, but Texas Lawyer couldn't reach him because his phone  is disconnected.

The juvenile board members' lawyer, Rusty Hardin of Rusty Hardin & Associates in Houston, didn't return a call seeking comment before deadline.