City of Fort Worth, Texas v. Mary Deal

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided December 20, 2017·No. 02-17-00413-CV·Published

Opinion

ACCEPTED

02-17-00413-CV

SECOND COURT OF APPEALS

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

12/20/2017 1:51 PM

DEBRA SPISAK

CLERK

NO. 02-17-00413-CV

FILED IN

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND2nd COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

12/20/2017 1:51:56 PM

DEBRA SPISAK

Clerk

THE CITY OF FORT WORTH

Appellant,

v.

MARY DEAL,

Appellee.

On Appeal from the 342nd District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, Cause No. 342-289469-16 the Honorable Wade Birdwell, Presiding

BRIEF OF APPELLANT

Laetitia Coleman Brown State Bar No. 00792417 Laetitia.brown@fortworthtexas.gov

Lynn Winter State Bar No. 24078135 Lynn.winter@fortworthtexas.gov

CITY OF FORT WORTH 200 Texas Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102 817.392.7600—Telephone 817.392.8359—Telecopier

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS

ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED

IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL Appellants/Defendants: The City of Fort Worth

Counsel for Appellant/Defendant:

Laetitia Coleman Brown State Bar No. 00792417 Laetitia.brown@fortworthtexas.gov

Lynn Winter State Bar No. 24078135 Lynn.winter@fortworthtexas.gov

CITY OF FORT WORTH 200 Texas Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102 817.392.7600—Telephone 817.392.8359—Telecopier

Appellee/Plaintiff: Mary Deal

Counsel for Appellee/Plaintiff:

Joe Riddell P.O. Box 41898 Austin, Texas 78704 (512) 663-4669 joeriddell@aol.com

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL .............................................................i INDEX OF AUTHORITIES.....................................................................................iv STATEMENT OF THE CASE .................................................................................vi STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT ............................................ vii ISSUES PRESENTED........................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 STATEMENT OF FACTS ........................................................................................2 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ........................................................................ 3 ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES ........................................................................ 3 I. Standard of review ...........................................................................................3

II. The Trial Court erred in denying the City’s Plea to the Jurisdiction because Appellee alleged intentional torts under the Texas Tort Claims Act ....................................................................................4

A. The Texas Tort Claims Act .................................................................. 4

B. The deploying of the tire deflation device was an arrest and therefore an intentional tort .................................................................. 6

C. The act of deploying a tire deflation device is an intentional tort ........ 7 D. The act of deploying a tire deflation device is a battery ....................... 9

PRAYER ..................................................................................................................11

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page ii

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE .......................................................................12 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ................................................................................13 INDEX TO APPENDIX ..........................................................................................14

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page iii

INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

Cases: Page

Bland Independent School District v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547 (Tex. 2000) ........................................................................................4

City of Amarillo v. Martin, 971 S.W.2d 426 (Tex. 1998)......................................................................................4

City of Borger v. Garcia, 290 S.W.3d 325 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 2009, pet. denied)....................................3, 4

City of Fort Worth v. Chattha, No. 02-11-00342-CV, 2012 Tex.App. LEXIS 1264, 2012 WL 503223, (Tex.App.—Fort Worth Feb. 16, 2012, no pet.) ......................................................10

City of Laredo v. Nuno, 94 S.W.3d 786 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 2002, no pet.)........................................... 7

City of Lubbock v. Nunez, 279 S.W.3d 739 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 2007, pet. granted and dism’d by agr.) . 9, 10

City of Waco v. Williams, 209 S.W.3d 216 (Tex.App.—Waco 2006, pet. denied).......................................8, 10

City of Watauga v. Gordon, 434 S.W.3d 586 (Tex. 2014)................................................................................6, 10

Durbin v. City of Winnsboro, 135 S.W.3d 317 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 2004, pet. denied) ..................................... 9

Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc., 424 S.W.2d 627 (Tex. 1967)....................................................................................10

Harris County v. Cabazos, 177 S.W.3d 105 (Tex.App—Houston [1st Dist.] 2005, no pet.) ............................6, 7

Mo. Pac. R.R. v. Brownsville Navigation Dist., 453 S.W.2d 812 (Tex. 1970)......................................................................................4

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page iv

INDEX OF AUTHORITIES (cont.)

Cases: Page

Pineda v. City of Houston, 175 S.W.3d 276 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.) ...........................8, 9

Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318; 114 S.Ct. 1526; 128 L. Ed.2d 293 (1994) .......................................... 6

Tex. Department of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 1999) ..........................................................................................3

Tex. Dep’t. of Public Safety v. Petta, 44 S.W.3d 575, 44 Tex. Sup. J 597 (Tex. 2001) ...................................................7, 8

Rules and Statutes: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.021 ................................................... per curiam Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.057 ...............................................................5, 7

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page v

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Nature of the Case: This is an appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction. Appellee filed her original petition alleging that the City was liable for damages under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Appellee alleges that her son was killed when an officer deployed a tire deflation device during a police pursuit involving her son.

Trial Court: The 342nd Judicial District Court, Tarrant County, Texas, Cause No. 342-289469-16, the Honorable Wade Birdwell, presiding.

Trial Court’s Disposition: The City filed a Plea to the Jurisdiction. [1 CR 9].

The trial court partially granted and partially denied the City’s Plea. [1 CR 299]. In denying the City’s Plea, the Court determined that the allegations in Appellee’s Petition did not allege an Intentional Tort for which the City would have been entitled to governmental immunity under the Texas Tort Claims Act.

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page vi

STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT Pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1(e), the City requests oral argument. The legal issues involve a determination as to what constitutes an intentional tort under the Texas Tort Claims Act. The Court’s decisional process will be aided significantly by oral argument, which will help to emphasize, clarify, and focus the facts and legal arguments presented in the briefs.

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page vii

ISSUES PRESENTED

Did the trial court err in denying the City’s Plea to the Jurisdiction, determining that the deployment of a tire deflation device was not an intentional tort under the Texas Tort Claims Act?

Brief of Appellant City of Fort Worth Page viii

INTRODUCTION

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Related

Stansbury v. California
511 U.S. 318 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Pineda v. City of Houston
175 S.W.3d 276 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)
City of Waco v. Williams
209 S.W.3d 216 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Bland Independent School District v. Blue
34 S.W.3d 547 (Texas Supreme Court, 2000)
City of Amarillo v. Martin
971 S.W.2d 426 (Texas Supreme Court, 1998)
Durbin v. City of Winnsboro
135 S.W.3d 317 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Texas Department of Public Safety v. Petta
44 S.W.3d 575 (Texas Supreme Court, 2001)
City of Laredo v. Nuno
94 S.W.3d 786 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
HARRIS COUNTY, TX v. Cabazos
177 S.W.3d 105 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Texas Department of Transportation v. Jones
8 S.W.3d 636 (Texas Supreme Court, 1999)
City of Borger v. Garcia
290 S.W.3d 325 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)
City of Lubbock v. Nunez
279 S.W.3d 739 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc.
424 S.W.2d 627 (Texas Supreme Court, 1967)
Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District
453 S.W.2d 812 (Texas Supreme Court, 1970)
the City of Watauga v. Russell Gordon
434 S.W.3d 586 (Texas Supreme Court, 2014)