City of Harlingen v. Alvarez

204 S.W.3d 452, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 9976, 2005 WL 2387401
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 16, 2006
Docket13-03-00169-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 204 S.W.3d 452 (City of Harlingen v. Alvarez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Harlingen v. Alvarez, 204 S.W.3d 452, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 9976, 2005 WL 2387401 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice HINOJOSA.

Appellant, the City of Harlingen (“the City”), appeals from (1) the trial court’s order denying its plea to the jurisdiction and (2) judgment denying its motion for summary judgment and granting the motion for summary judgment of appellee, Eddie Alvarez. We reverse the trial court’s judgment, render in part, and remand in part.

A. Factual Background

On March 6, 2001, J.L. Garcia was “indefinitely suspended” from his position of fire captain/assistant fire marshal with the City of Harlingen Fire Department for insubordination, being absent without leave, and violating local rules. On October 18, 2001, Garcia’s indefinite suspension was affirmed by an independent hearing examiner appointed to hear his appeal. As a result of Garcia’s discharge, a vacancy occurred in a classified position in the Har-lingen Fire Department.

Under the Civil Service Act (“the Act”), the City is required to fill promotional vacancies from eligibility lists created as a result of competitive promotional examinations. See Tex. Loa Gov’t Code Ann. § 143.036 (Vernon 1999). If an eligibility list exists on the date a vacancy occurs, the vacancy must be filled from that list within sixty days. Id. On March 6, 2001, Alvarez was the top-ranked and only candidate on the eligibility list.

On March 9, 2001, Garcia appealed his indefinite suspension. However, it was not until October 18, 2001, that the hearing examiner issued the decision affirming the indefinite suspension. By that time, the promotional eligibility list in existence on March 6, 2001, had expired and a new one had been established. Alvarez was ranked [456]*456number four on the new eligibility list, and the fire chief promoted the first-ranked candidate from the new eligibility list on December 5, 2001.

Alvarez sued the City, alleging that he was entitled to the promotion because he was the highest-ranked candidate on the eligibility list when the vacancy occurred on March 6, 2001. The City asserted the vacancy occurred on October 18, 2001, when the hearing examiner’s decision was issued. The City filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that Alvarez had failed to exhaust the administrative remedies set forth in the Act, but the plea was denied by the trial court. Then, based upon a “Joint Stipulation of Facts,” the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the City’s motion and granted Alvarez’s motion for summary judgment. In its final judgment, the trial court (1) declared that a vacancy in the position of fire captain occurred on March 6, 2001, as a result of Garcia’s discharge; (2) ordered the City to promote Alvarez retroactively; and (3) awarded him back pay and attorney’s fees.

B. Plea to the JuRisdiction

In subpart one of its second issue, the City contends the trial court erred in denying its plea to the jurisdiction. Specifically, the City asserts the trial court did not have jurisdiction over this case because Alvarez failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing suit.

1. Standard of Review

A plea to the jurisdiction is a dilatory plea; its purpose is “to defeat a cause of action without regard to whether the claims asserted have merit.” Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 554 (Tex.2000). The plea challenges the trial court’s authority to determine the subject matter of a pleaded cause of action. City of Midland v. Sullivan, 33 S.W.3d 1, 6 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2000, pet. dism’d w.o.j.); State v. Benavides, 772 S.W.2d 271, 273 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1989, writ denied).

Because subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law, we review a trial court’s ruling on a plea to the jurisdiction under a de novo standard of review. State ex rel. State Dept. of Highways and Public Transp. v. Gonzalez, 82 S.W.3d 322, 327 (Tex.2002). In determining whether jurisdiction exists, rather than looking at the claim’s merits, we look to the allegations in the pleadings, accept them as true, and construe them in favor of the pleader. See County of Cameron v. Brown, 80 S.W.3d 549, 555 (Tex.2002); Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 446 (Tex.1993). We consider the facts alleged in the petition, and to the extent it is relevant to the jurisdictional issue, any evidence submitted by the parties to the trial court. Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm’n v. White, 46 S.W.3d 864, 868 (Tex.2001); Blue, 34 S.W.3d at 555.

It is the plaintiffs burden to allege facts affirmatively demonstrating the trial court’s jurisdiction. Tex. Ass’n of Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 446; Mission Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Flores, 39 S.W.3d 674, 676 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.). When a plaintiff fails to plead facts that establish jurisdiction, but the petition does not affirmatively demonstrate incurable defects in jurisdiction, the issue is one of pleading sufficiency, and the plaintiff should be afforded the opportunity to amend. Brown, 80 S.W.3d at 555. On the other hand, if the pleadings affirmatively negate the existence of jurisdiction, then a plea to the jurisdiction may be granted without allowing the plaintiff an opportunity to amend. Id.

[457]*4572. Analysis

In his petition, Alvarez alleged the City violated his rights under section 143.036 of the Act by failing and refusing to promote him to the classified position of fire captain within sixty days after a vacancy was created in that classification as a result of Garcia’s discharge. See Tex. Loo. Gov’t Code ANn. § 143.036(h) (Vernon 1999).

When an agency has exclusive jurisdiction, a party must exhaust all administrative remedies before seeking judicial review of the agency’s claim. Thomas v. Long, 97 S.W.3d 300, 303 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, pet. filed) (citing Subaru of Am., Inc. v. David McDavid Nissan, Inc., 84 S.W.3d 212, 221 (Tex. 2002)). Until the exhaustion of administrative remedies, the trial court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and must dismiss all claims within the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction. Subaru of Am., 84 S.W.3d at 221.

However, an agency has exclusive jurisdiction only when a pervasive regulatory scheme indicates that the legislature intended for the regulatory process to be the exclusive means of remedying the problem to which the regulation is addressed. See id. Whether an agency has exclusive jurisdiction depends upon statutory interpretation. Id.

An administrative agency such as the Civil Service Commission has only such powers as are expressly granted to it by statute, together with those necessarily implied from the authority conferred or duties imposed. Stauffer v. City of San Antonio, 162 Tex. 13, 344 S.W.2d 158, 160 (1961).

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204 S.W.3d 452, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 9976, 2005 WL 2387401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-harlingen-v-alvarez-texapp-2006.