Houston-based developer Midway has hauled Hutto officials into court, filing a roughly $300 million lawsuit in Harris County after a high-profile negotiation over the city-owned Cottonwood tract fell apart. The suit targets the Hutto Economic Development Corporation, Mayor Mike Snyder, and Terra Halona, accusing Snyder of leaning on the EDC to tilt the process toward a rival developer and, in Midway’s telling, effectively killing a deal the company expected to finalize. Midway says the city breached a memorandum of understanding and is asking for $250 million in exemplary damages on top of $50 million in compensatory damages.
In the petition filed with the Harris County District Clerk, Midway claims emails and meeting notes show Snyder warning company representatives that “things would not end well for Midway” if a proposed compensation setup for Terra Halona and related TerraMark interests did not pass muster. The filing, dated Feb. 18, demands a jury trial and attaches emails and other correspondence that Midway argues document the mayor’s interference.
Midway had been tapped as master developer for the roughly 240 to 250-acre Cottonwood site in December 2023 and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hutto EDC in early 2024. Talks later bogged down, and in October 2025, the EDC voted to cut off negotiations, publicly citing delays and concerns about financing. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the high-visibility parcel along U.S. 79 has attracted multiple bidders over the years, with two prior development attempts already ending up in court.
Allegations Center on Paydays and Political Muscle
According to the petition, Terra Halona representatives first connected Midway with a former Hutto EDC director, then later pushed a partnership proposal that Midway never agreed to. Midway contends that when it declined Terra Halona’s proposed compensation terms, Snyder floated the idea that the city could simply “restart the process” and select another developer. Those exchanges sit at the heart of Midway’s bribery and interference allegations, which ask the court to scrutinize email threads and a memo produced through public records that the company says show Snyder’s direct role in outreach to both tenants and competing developers.
City Stays Quiet While Cottonwood Spotlight Intensifies
A city representative declined to comment on the pending case, according to Community Impact. The Cottonwood tract, owned by the Hutto Economic Development Corporation, sits along the U.S. 79 corridor and has been a recurring flashpoint in local growth politics. The HEDC posts its meetings and board roster on the Hutto Economic Development Corporation site, where Snyder is listed as a board member. City leaders and developers have already sparred in the past over infrastructure and how to pay for it, and Midway’s lawsuit has now dragged those long-running tensions back into the spotlight.
Legal Stakes Around Punitive Damages
Midway’s request for $250 million in exemplary damages significantly raises the legal stakes. Under Texas law, exemplary damages work as a punitive-style remedy and are restricted to cases where there is clear and convincing proof that the harm stemmed from fraud, malice, or gross negligence. The standards for such awards set a high bar and require unanimous agreement by a jury on any exemplary amount, according to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.003. That threshold will guide how the judge handles Midway’s claims and whether the issue of exemplary damages ever reaches a jury at all.
What Comes Next in the Courthouse Chess Match
The petition landed in Harris County, where the district clerk’s office manages civil filings, and the county clerk’s public portal shows filings are routed through Marilyn Burgess’s office. Midway describes itself on its website as a Houston-based firm focused on large mixed-use developments, and it now finds itself gearing up for discovery and scheduling in a county more than a hundred miles from the Cottonwood land in Williamson County. In the short term, expect both sides to trade motions over venue, jurisdiction, and whether Midway’s petition is legally sufficient, as they maneuver through pretrial procedures and potentially toward mediation before any jury ever hears the bare-knuckle details.
