Hoppenstein Properties, Inc. v. McLennan County Appraisal District

341 S.W.3d 16, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 10322, 2010 WL 5419013
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided December 22, 2010·No. 10-09-00426-CV·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

OPINION ON REHEARING

FELIPE REYNA, Justice.

Hoppenstein Properties, Inc. sued the McLennan County Appraisal District (“MCAD”) for breach of a commercial lease after MCAD abandoned the leased premises. The trial court granted MCAD’s partial plea to the jurisdiction on Hoppenstein’s claim for future damages. On original submission, this Court affirmed the judgment, holding that the commercial lease is not a contract for goods or services under section 271.152 of the Local Government Code, which waives a local governmental entity’s immunity from suits arising under such contracts. Hoppenstein has filed a motion for rehearing asking that the Court reconsider this holding in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kirby Lake Development, Ltd. v. Clear Lake City Water Authority, 320 S.W.3d 829 (2010). We will grant rehearing, withdraw the prior opinion and judgment, and reverse the trial court’s order.

Background

The parties signed a 60-month lease in November 2007. A construction addendum to the lease required Hoppenstein to complete certain renovations, including among other things: (1) removing interior walls and constructing new ones according to an attached floor plan; (2) installing new carpet and tile; and (3) reconfiguring the HVAC system to accommodate the reconfigured space. Construction was to be “performed by trained and qualified *19 persons in a good and workman-like manner” and in compliance with applicable codes, ordinances, regulations, and statutes. MCAD retained the right to inspect and object to any deficiencies. 1 The lease term would commence after Hoppenstein completed renovation of the unoccupied portion of the premises, 2 and the parties were to sign a commencement letter at that time acknowledging the commencement date.

Hoppenstein alleges that the renovations were completed by May 1, 2008 and that MCAD occupied the renovated premises thereafter and the lease term commenced. Hoppenstein claims that MCAD breached the lease by: (1) interfering with renovations to other portions of the premises; (2) failing to pay rent after May 31, 2008; (3) failing to pay for “renovation extras” performed by Hoppenstein and authorized by MCAD; and (4) abandoning the premises on June 1, 2009. 3 Hoppenstein seeks past damages for the first three components of the breach-of-contract claim. It seeks future damages for anticipatory breach 4 in the form of lost rents owed after May 31, 2009 and other costs incurred as a result of MCAD’s abandonment of the premises. See Dixon v. Modelist, 157 S.W.3d 454, 456 (Tex.App.Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, no pet.) (“plaintiffs in anticipatory breach cases usually seek future damages as opposed to past damages”).

MCAD answered with a general denial, a series of special denials, and several affirmative defenses, including governmental immunity. In essence, MCAD claims that the lease never commenced because Hoppenstein never completed the renovations required to trigger commencement of the lease term. By its partial plea to the jurisdiction, MCAD contended that its immunity from suit has not been waived with regard to “any claims seeking rents and related obligations that purportedly have been or will be incurred after [MCAD] abandoned the premises.” In other words, MCAD claimed immunity from suit on Hoppenstein’s claim for future damages.

Hoppenstein contends in two issues that: (1) MCAD’s immunity from suit has been waived by section 271.152 of the Local Government Code because the lease constitutes a contract for the provision of services to MCAD; and (2) the waiver of immunity provided by section 271.152 applies on a “contract-by-contract basis” rather than a “promise-by-promise basis.”

Contract for Services

Section 271.152 of the Local Government Code waives the immunity from suit of certain local governmental entities 5 *20 for breach-of-contract claims arising from written contracts that state “the essential terms of the agreement for providing goods or services to the local governmental entity.” See Tex. Loo. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 271.151(2), 271.152 (Vernon 2005). “The Legislature enacted section 271.152 ‘to loosen the immunity bar so that all local governmental entities that have been given or are given the statutory authority to enter into contracts shall not be immune from suits arising from those contracts.’ ” Kirby Lake Dev., 320 S.W.3d at 838 (quoting Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Tex. Political Subdivisions Prop./Cas. Joint Self-Ins. Fund, 212 S.W.3d 320, 327 (Tex.2006)).

The relevant inquiry is whether the lease entails “the provision of ‘goods or services’ ” to MCAD. See id. at 839 (quoting Tex. Loo. Gov’t Code Ann. § 271.151(2)). The term “services” is “broad enough to encompass a wide variety of activities.” Id. “The services provided ... need not be the primary purpose of the agreement,” but they must be provided directly to the local governmental entity. Id.

The construction addendum requires Hoppenstein to renovate the pi"emises according to a floor plan agreed to by MCAD. The renovations had to be completed in a manner satisfactory to MCAD. The construction addendum was incorporated into the lease by reference in paragraph 33 of the lease. 6 Thus, the addendum is part of the lease. See In re Bank One, N.A., 216 S.W.3d 825, 826 (Tex.2007) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam) (“Documents incorporated by reference in [a contract] are part of the contract.”).

Under the lease, Hoppenstein contracted to renovate the premises for MCAD. Thus, the lease entails the provision of services to MCAD within the meaning of the statute. See Kirby Lake Dev., 320 5.W.3d at 839 (agreement to construct, develop and lease facilities was a contract for services under the statute). Accordingly, we sustain Hoppenstein’s first issue.

Scope of Waiver

Hoppenstein contends in its second issue that the waiver of immunity provided by section 271.152 applies on a “contract-by-contract basis” rather than a “promise-by-promise basis.” Thus, Hoppenstein argues that MCAD’s immunity is waived not only for damages flowing from any breach of the “sendees provisions” of the lease but also from any breach of the remainder of the lease terms.

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Hoppenstein Properties, Inc. v. McLennan County Appraisal District, 341 S.W.3d 16, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 10322, 2010 WL 5419013 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

341 S.W.3d 16 (Hoppenstein Properties, Inc. v. McLennan County Appraisal District) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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