City of San Benito, Petitioners v. Rio Grande Valley Gas Company, and Southern Union Company D/b/a Southern…

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that unnamed class members are parties for purposes of appeal and may challenge a class settlement without intervening in the trial court, and that cities may authorize their attorneys to opt out of a class action without an open meeting. The Court also found no waiver of the cities' objections and concluded the trial court abused its discretion in denying the opt‑out requests, reversing the Court of Appeals and granting opt‑out to six cities while affirming the judgment for Pharr.