Erica Barrera, Individually and as Next Friend of D.R., Minor; Michael Brown, Individually and as Next Friend of V.B., Minor; Jennifer Davis, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.D., Minor; Angeli Rose Gomez, Individually and as Next Friend of G.B. & A.G., Minors; Luz Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend of N.J., Minor; Carla Rose King; Tiffany Luna, Individually and as Next Friend of A.P., Minor; Tamica Martinez, Individually and as Next Friend of R.D., Minor; Tiffany Massey v. Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety

Texas Court of Appeals, 4th District (San Antonio)·Decided February 25, 2026·No. 04-24-00461-CV·Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals

San Antonio, Texas

MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-24-00461-CV

Erica BARRERA, Individually and as Next Friend of D.R., Minor; Michael Brown, Individually and as Next Friend of V.B., Minor; Jennifer Davis, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.D., Minor; Angeli Rose Gomez, Individually and as Next Friend of G.B. & A.G., Minors; Luz Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend of N.J., Minor; Carla Rose King; Tiffany Luna, Individually and as Next Friend of A.P., Minor; Tamica Martinez, Individually and as Next Friend of R.D., Minor; Tiffany Massey; Yolanda Morales, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.G., Minor; Nicole Faye Ogburn; Mary Ann Reyes, Individually and as Next Friend of A.S. & A.S., Minors; Bianca Rivera, Individually and as Next Friend of G.R., Minor; Christina and Brenda Sonora, Individually and as Next Friend of V.S., Minor; David Trevino, Individually and as Next Friend of A.T., I.T., & D.T., Minors; Krystal Upton, Individually and as Next Friend of J.T. and B.T., Minors; Esmeralda Velasquez, Individually and as Next Friend of C.V., Minor;

Sofia Zapata, Individually and as Next Friend of M.S., Minor, Appellants

v.

UVALDE COUNTY and The Texas Department of Public Safety, Appellees

From the 38th Judicial District Court, Uvalde County, Texas Trial Court No. 2023-11-35275-CV Honorable M. Rex Emerson, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

Sitting: Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice Lori Massey Brissette, Justice H. Todd McCray, Justice

Delivered and Filed: February 25, 2026 AFFIRMED

The appellants in this case are five teachers and twenty students who survived the May 24, 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School and the parents of the appellant students. They challenge the trial court’s final judgment, which dismissed their negligence claims against appellees Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) for lack of subject- matter jurisdiction. We conclude that the Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) and precedent interpreting that statute leave us with no choice but to affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

The student and teacher appellants were all on campus during the tragedy at Robb Elementary. None of the appellants were in the classrooms where the shooter murdered nineteen students and two teachers, but most were barricaded in nearby classrooms and could hear the gunfire, and some saw the shooter as he moved through the campus. The shooter also fired into the windows of at least one of the classrooms where the appellants were located. Several appellants lost friends and cousins in the shooting, and others were physically injured during the evacuation. All were traumatized.

The appellants sued Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (“UCISD”), the City of Uvalde, Uvalde County, DPS, and the Texas Rangers under the TTCA. They brought a premises liability claim against UCISD and separately alleged that all five defendants “(a) fail[ed] to enforce state-mandated active shooter protocols; (b) fail[ed] to enforce security policies and procedures; (c) fail[ed] to maintain the security equipment, doors, and alert systems; and (d) fail[ed] to select, hire, and train competent leaders and law enforcement officers.” The appellants alleged their “injuries were proximately caused either by the negligence of the Defendants’ employees acting within the scope of their employment in the use of tangible property, or under circumstances where an employee or agent furnished tangible property the use of which caused the Plaintiffs’ harm.”

The City of Uvalde did not enter an appearance in this case. UCISD, Uvalde County, and DPS/the Texas Rangers all filed pleas to the jurisdiction in which they argued the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the appellants’ claims. After a hearing, the trial court granted the pleas, and the appellants subsequently filed a motion for rehearing. During the hearing on their motion, the appellants withdrew their request for rehearing as to UCISD and the Texas Rangers. The trial court denied the motion for rehearing, and the appellants filed a notice of appeal.

In response to an order from this court, the trial court signed a “clarifying order” that reiterated its earlier rulings. That order concluded, “This is a Final Order and all relief not herein granted is denied.” We construe this clarifying order as the trial court’s final judgment. The parties’ briefing in this case was completed on April 2, 2025, and the case was submitted after oral argument on December 5, 2025. 1

1 During oral argument, the appellants’ lead counsel reiterated that he had filed a motion to reschedule the argument, and he appeared to question this court’s decision to deny that motion. This case was originally set for submission on oral argument on May 28, 2025, and we sua sponte rescheduled the argument for June 16, 2025. The appellants subsequently filed a motion asking us to reset the argument to accommodate their lead counsel’s family vacation and previously scheduled depositions, and we granted that motion.

On July 23, 2025, the appellants filed a second motion to reset the oral argument, citing the recent health concerns of their lead counsel. We granted that motion and rescheduled the argument for December 5, 2025.

On November 7, 2025, the appellants filed a third motion to reset the argument, again citing their lead counsel’s health concerns. The motion suggested dates in March of 2026, nearly a year after the briefing in this case was complete. We denied the motion, noting: (1) the case had been ripe for decision for several months and had already been reset three times; (2) the extensive coordination necessary to schedule oral argument in Uvalde County, where this case was heard; and (3) while the appellants’ briefing and other filings in this court listed the names of several other attorneys who are counsel of record in this case, none of their motions to reset oral argument explained why those attorneys could not perform the argument in place of their lead counsel.

The appellants’ lead counsel ultimately chose to present the argument himself. One of the other attorneys listed on the appellants’ filings also attended oral argument, and we allowed her to actively assist with both the appellants’ opening argument and their rebuttal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 39.4. As noted above, during that time, the appellants’ lead counsel expressed his displeasure at our denial of his motion to reschedule. We feel compelled to note that his comments did not accurately represent the latitude we had already extended to him.

ANALYSIS

Standard of Review and Applicable Law “In Texas, sovereign immunity deprives a trial court of subject matter jurisdiction for lawsuits in which the state or certain governmental units have been sued unless the state consents to suit.” Tex. Dep’t of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 224 (Tex. 2004); see also, e.g., Tarrant County v. Bonner, 574 S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. 2019). Because sovereign immunity “defeats a trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction,” it “is properly asserted in a plea to the jurisdiction.” Miranda, 133 S.W.3d at 225–26.

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Erica Barrera, Individually and as Next Friend of D.R., Minor; Michael Brown, Individually and as Next Friend of V.B., Minor; Jennifer Davis, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.D., Minor; Angeli Rose Gomez, Individually and as Next Friend of G.B. & A.G., Minors; Luz Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend of N.J., Minor; Carla Rose King; Tiffany Luna, Individually and as Next Friend of A.P., Minor; Tamica Martinez, Individually and as Next Friend of R.D., Minor; Tiffany Massey v. Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety, (Tex. Ct. App. 2026).

Erica Barrera, Individually and as Next Friend of D.R., Minor; Michael Brown, Individually and as Next Friend of V.B., Minor; Jennifer Davis, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.D., Minor; Angeli Rose Gomez, Individually and as Next Friend of G.B. & A.G., Minors; Luz Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend of N.J., Minor; Carla Rose King; Tiffany Luna, Individually and as Next Friend of A.P., Minor; Tamica Martinez, Individually and as Next Friend of R.D., Minor; Tiffany Massey v. Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety (Erica Barrera, Individually and as Next Friend of D.R., Minor; Michael Brown, Individually and as Next Friend of V.B., Minor; Jennifer Davis, Individually and as Next Friend of Z.D., Minor; Angeli Rose Gomez, Individually and as Next Friend of G.B. & A.G., Minors; Luz Hernandez, Individually and as Next Friend of N.J., Minor; Carla Rose King; Tiffany Luna, Individually and as Next Friend of A.P., Minor; Tamica Martinez, Individually and as Next Friend of R.D., Minor; Tiffany Massey v. Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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