Llanes v. Corpus Christi Independent School District

64 S.W.3d 638, 2001 WL 1657605
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 24, 2002
Docket13-00-463-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 64 S.W.3d 638 (Llanes v. Corpus Christi Independent School District) 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
Llanes v. Corpus Christi Independent School District, 64 S.W.3d 638, 2001 WL 1657605 (Tex. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION

RODRIGUEZ, Justice.

Sylvia Llanes brought suit against Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD), asserting wrongful termination under the Texas Whistleblower Act (the Act) and breach of contract. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 554.001-.010 (Vernon Supp.2001). CCISD filed a motion for summary judgment, which was granted as to the claim under the Act. The court severed the breach of contract claim from the claim under the Act, making the summary judgment final. Llanes challenges the summary judgment by two issues. We affirm.

Llanes worked for CCISD as a secretary to the associate superintendent for business and support services. She applied for a different position within CCISD, but did not get the job. Llanes complained about the hiring process, believing it to be unfair. Both her supervisor and the superintendent told her that no CCISD policy had been violated. Less than two months later, she was terminated.

Llanes sued for wrongful termination under the Act and for breach of contract. CCISD filed a traditional and no-evidence summary judgment motion, asserting, inter alia, the Act claim failed as a matter of law because Llanes did not report a specific law which was violated, and no evidence existed to show “a violation of law” was reported, as required by the Act. The trial court granted summary judgment on Llanes’s cause of action under the Act without specifying the reason for the ruling. The court denied summary judgment on the breach of contract claim, severed it, and ordered it abated until all appeals on the cause of action under the Act became final. This appeal ensued.

When a traditional summary judgment motion is brought under rule 166a(c) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the movant has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See American Tobac[641]*641co, Inc. v. Grinnell, 951 S.W.2d 420, 425 (Tex.1997); Ford v. City of State Bank of Palacios, 44 S.W.3d 121, 127 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi, 2001, no pet.). In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue precluding summary judgment, evidence favorable to the nonmovant will be taken as true. See American Tobacco, 951 S.W.2d at 425; Nixon v. Mr. Property Mgmt. Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548^9 (Tex.1985). Every reasonable inference must be indulged in favor of the nonmovant and any doubts must be resolved in favor of the nonmovant. See American Tobacco, 951 S.W.2d at 425; Nixon, 690 S.W.2d at 548-49. A defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted if he disproves at least one essential element of each of the plaintiffs causes of action, or if he establishes all elements of an affirmative defense. See American Tobacco, 951 S.W.2d at 425; Ford, 44 S.W.3d at 127. Once the movant establishes its right to summary judgment as a matter of law, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to offer an issue or evidence that would preclude summary judgment. See City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979).

When a party moves for summary judgment under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 166a(i) asserting there is no evidence of one or more of the essential elements of the nonmovant’s claims, the movant does not bear the burden of establishing each element of its own claim or defense. See Tex.R.Civ.P 166a(i). Instead, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to present evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact in support of the challenged elements, thereby precluding summary judgment. City of Houston, 589 S.W.2d at 678.

If a summary judgment is granted generally, without specification of the reason, it will be upheld if any ground for summary judgment can be sustained. See Bradley v. State ex rel. White, 990 S.W.2d 245, 247 (Tex.1999); Carr v. Brasher, 776 S.W.2d 567, 569 (Tex.1989); Weakly v. East, 900 S.W.2d 755, 758 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1995, pet. denied).

By her first issue, Llanes contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to her claim under the Act.

The Act prohibits a governmental employer from terminating an employee. who in good faith reports a violation of the law by the employing governmental entity or another public employee to an appropriate law enforcement authority. Tex.Gov't Code Ann. § 554.002(a) (Vernon Supp.2001); Gold v. City of College Station, 40 S.W.3d 637, 643-44 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001, no pet.). This statute is designed to enhance openness in government and compel the government’s compliance with the law by protecting those who inform authorities of wrongdoing. See Travis County v. Colunga, 753 S.W.2d 716, 718-19 (Tex.App.—Austin 1988, writ denied). Hence, we interpret this statute liberally, and in accordance with its remedial purpose. Castaneda v. Texas Dept. of Agric., 831 S.W.2d 501, 501 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1992, writ denied); see Burch v. City of San Antonio, 518 S.W.2d 540, 544 (Tex.1975).

Llanes maintains she satisfied the first element of a Whistleblower claim as she reported an alleged violation of law to an appropriate authority. According to Llanes, the Act does not require a whistle-blower to identify a specific law when making a good-faith report. CCISD counters that, to maintain a cause of action under the Act, there must be some law or policy in place prohibiting the reported conduct.

Section 554.001(1) defines “law” as “a state or federal statute, an ordinance passed by local government body, or a rule adopted under a statute or ordinance.” [642]*642See Tex.Gov’t.CodeAnn. § 554.001(1) (Vernon Supp.2001). We have interpreted the phrase “reports a violation of the law” to include any disclosure of information regarding a public servant’s employer tending to directly or circumstantially prove the substance of a violation of criminal or civil law, the state or federal constitution, statutes, administrative rules or regulations. See Castaneda, 831 S.W.2d at 503-04.

Here, Llanes reported that “the hiring process violated board policy and the law.” She believed the process was illegal because top administrators directed the hiring of a specific person, interviews were conducted outside of the hiring process, job requirements were changed to meet a specific person’s qualifications, and the hiring committee was composed of administrators who had expressed a preference for a specific person.

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Bluebook (online)
64 S.W.3d 638, 2001 WL 1657605, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/llanes-v-corpus-christi-independent-school-district-texapp-2002.