City of Houston v. Government Employee Insurance Company as Subrogee of John Gunn

403 S.W.3d 256, 2011 WL 6938543, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 10216
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 29, 2011
Docket01-11-00173-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 403 S.W.3d 256 (City of Houston v. Government Employee Insurance Company as Subrogee of John Gunn) 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 Houston v. Government Employee Insurance Company as Subrogee of John Gunn, 403 S.W.3d 256, 2011 WL 6938543, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 10216 (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

OPINION

LAURA CARTER HIGLEY, Justice.

The City of Houston, appeals the trial court’s interlocutory order denying its plea to the jurisdiction.1 In its sole issue, the City contends that the trial court erred in denying its plea because it has immunity pursuant to subsection (b) of the eleetion-of-remedies provision of the Texas Tort Claims Act.2

We affirm.

Background

Jessica Gunn was driving a car owned by John Gunn when she had a car accident with City of Houston employee Kurt Rogers. The Government Employee Insurance Company (“GEICO”), as subrogee of John Gunn, sued the City and its employee, Kurt Rogers, for the property damage to the vehicle. GEICO alleged that Rogers had negligently operated the motor vehicle, causing a collision with the vehicle owned by John Gunn and driven by Jessica Gunn. GEICO asserted that, at the time of the collision, Rogers, a police officer, was acting within the course and scope of his employment. GEICO alleged that the City was hable for Rogers’s conduct under the theory of respondeat superior.

The City and Rogers separately answered GEICO’s suit. GEICO filed its first amended petition in which it sued only the City for Rogers’s allegedly negligent acts. GEICO omitted Rogers as a defendant. The City then filed a plea to the jurisdiction asserting that GEICO’s tort claim was barred by subsection 101.106(b) of the Tort Claims Act because GEICO had included Rogers in its original petition. Subsection (b) provides that the “filing of a suit against any employee of a governmental unit ... immediately and forever bars any suit or recovery by the plaintiff against the governmental unit re[258]*258garding the same subject matter unless the governmental unit consents.”3 The trial court denied the City’s plea to the jurisdiction.4 The City appeals the trial court’s order.

Standard of Review

Governmental immunity from suit defeats a trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction and is properly asserted in a plea to the jurisdiction. See Tex. Dep’t of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 225-26 (Tex.2004); Tex. Dep’t of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex.1999). We review de novo a trial court’s ruling on a jurisdictional plea. See Miranda, 133 S.W.3d at 226; Kalyanaram v. Univ. of Tex. Sys., 230 S.W.3d 921, 927 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2007, pet. denied).

The issue presented in this appeal requires this Court to interpret section 101.106 of the Tort Claims Act. “The meaning of a statute is a legal question, which we review de novo to ascertain and give effect to the legislature’s intent.” Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers, 282 S.W.3d 433, 437 (Tex.2009); Galbraith Eng’g Consultants, Inc. v. Pochucha, 290 S.W.3d 863, 867 (Tex.2009). In construing statutes, our primary objective is to give effect to the legislature’s intent as expressed in the language of the statute. Entergy Gulf States, 282 S.W.3d at 437; see also Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 312.005 (Vernon 2005) (“In interpreting a statute, a court shall diligently attempt to ascertain legislative intent and shall consider at all times the old law, the evil, and the remedy.”). “Where text is clear, text is determinative of that intent.” Galbraith Eng’g Consultants, 290 S.W.3d at 867. “This general rule applies unless enforcing the plain language of the statute as written would produce absurd results.” Id. We presume the legislature intended a just and reasonable result when it enacted the statute. City of Rockwall v. Hughes, 246 S.W.3d 621, 626 (Tex.2008).

Plea to the Jurisdiction Based on Tort Claims Act Section 101.106(b)

In its sole issue, the City argues that the trial court erred in denying its plea to the jurisdiction because, by simultaneously filing suit against Rogers, its employee, regarding the same subject matter, GEICO triggered the application of subsection 101.106(b) of the Tort Claims Act. The City asserts that subsection (b) grants it immunity and bars any suit by GEICO against the City arising from the automobile collision between Jessica Gunn and Rogers.

Sovereign and governmental immunity exist to protect the State and its political subdivisions from lawsuits and liability for money damages because such lawsuits hamper governmental functions by interfering with the appropriate use of tax resources. See Mission Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Garcia, 253 S.W.3d 653, 655 (Tex.2008). Even so, the State, and likewise its political subdivisions, may be sued when the legislature has statutorily waived immunity. See id. We interpret statutory waivers of immunity narrowly, and the legislature’s intent to waive immunity must [259]*259be clear and unambiguous. Id. (citing Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 311.034).

The Torts Claim Act establishes a limited waiver of immunity and authorizes suits to be brought against governmental units in certain narrowly-defined circumstances and with certain restrictions. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. §§ 101.001-009 (Vernon 2011); Tex. Dep’t of Criminal Justice v. Miller, 51 S.W.3d 583, 587 (Tex. 2001). Relevant to this case, the Act waives governmental immunity to the extent that liability arises from the “use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment.” See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021 (Vernon 2011).

The City does not dispute that section 101.021 generally waives its immunity for property damage claims arising from an auto accident, such as that asserted by GEICO. Nonetheless, the City claims that, under the procedural posture of this case, its immunity remains intact pursuant to subsection 101.106(b) of the Tort Claims Act. Under that provision, the City contends that GEICO is forever barred from suing the City for damages arising from the car accident.

To understand subsection (b), it is helpful to read the provision in the context of section 101.106 as a whole. That statute, entitled “Election of Remedies,” provides, as follows:

(a) The filing of a suit under this chapter against a governmental unit constitutes an irrevocable election by the plaintiff and immediately and forever bars any suit or recovery by the plaintiff against any individual employee of the governmental unit regarding the same subject matter.
(b) The filing of a suit against any employee of a governmental unit constitutes an irrevocable election by the plaintiff and immediately and forever bars any suit or recovery by the plaintiff against the governmental unit regarding the same subject matter unless the governmental unit consents.

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Related

Texas Department of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda
133 S.W.3d 217 (Texas Supreme Court, 2004)
City of Rockwall v. Hughes
246 S.W.3d 621 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
Mission Consolidated Independent School District v. Garcia
253 S.W.3d 653 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
FKM Partnership, Ltd. v. Board of Regents
255 S.W.3d 619 (Texas Supreme Court, 2008)
Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers
282 S.W.3d 433 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
Galbraith Engineering Consultants, Inc. v. Pochucha
290 S.W.3d 863 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
Franka v. Velasquez
332 S.W.3d 367 (Texas Supreme Court, 2011)
Kalyanaram v. University of Texas System
230 S.W.3d 921 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Miller
51 S.W.3d 583 (Texas Supreme Court, 2001)
Texas Department of Transportation v. Jones
8 S.W.3d 636 (Texas Supreme Court, 1999)
Hintz Ex Rel. Hintz v. Lally
305 S.W.3d 761 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Kamel v. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
333 S.W.3d 676 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Newman v. Obersteller Ex Rel. Obersteller
960 S.W.2d 621 (Texas Supreme Court, 1997)
the City of Houston v. Jessica Gunn
389 S.W.3d 401 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
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369 S.W.3d 238 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
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Bluebook (online)
403 S.W.3d 256, 2011 WL 6938543, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 10216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-houston-v-government-employee-insurance-company-as-subrogee-of-texapp-2011.