Orion Real Estate & Woodhill Pub. Facility Corp. v. Sarro

559 S.W.3d 599
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided July 5, 2018·No. No. 04-17-00702-CV·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Opinion by: Irene Rios, Justice

Appellee Martha R. Sarro, individually and as next friend of Jared Adrian Mata, a minor, sued Appellants Orion Real Estate Services, Inc. ("Orion") and Woodhill Public Facility Corp. ("Woodhill") alleging their negligence caused Jared injuries when he was bitten by a dog. Appellants filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting their immunity from suit. Appellants appeal the trial court's denial of the plea. We affirm in part and dismiss in part.

BACKGROUND

On January 26, 2016, Sarro filed an amended petition bringing claims against Orion, Woodhill, George Phillips, and the San Antonio Housing Authority ("SAHA") seeking damages for injuries Jared sustained when he was allegedly bitten by a dog on January 18, 2014 while playing outside in an apartment complex, Woodhill Apartments. Sarro alleged the property is owned by SAHA and Woodhill and managed by Orion, and that the dog was under the care and control of Phillips, a resident of the property. On October 7, 2016, SAHA filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that as a local government entity, it was immune from suit, and Sarro did not establish the State's consent to *602waive immunity. On November 3, 2016, the trial court signed an order granting SAHA's motion.

On September 6, 2017, Orion and Woodhill together filed a hybrid plea to the jurisdiction and traditional motion for summary judgment. In the plea to the jurisdiction, Appellants argued they were entitled to governmental immunity from suit and that Sarro had not pleaded any "specific legislative grant of permission to sue [Appellants, or any] conduct by [Appellants] to which a waiver of immunity from suit might apply." On October 5, 2017, the trial court signed an order denying Appellants' hybrid plea to the jurisdiction and traditional motion for summary judgment. This interlocutory appeal followed.

APPELLATE JURISDICTION

As a general rule, only final judgments and orders are appealable. Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp. , 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). "The legislature, however, has specified circumstances in which a litigant may appeal immediately from an otherwise unappealable order because a final judgment has not been rendered." Rosenberg Dev. Corp. v. Imperial Performing Arts, Inc. , 526 S.W.3d 693, 698 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. granted). Appellants rely on the statutory provision that allows a litigant to appeal from a trial court's interlocutory order that "grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit as that term is defined in [Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code] Section 101.001." See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 51.014(a)(8). Thus, we have jurisdiction over this appeal with respect to each appellant only if they are "governmental units." See id.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 101.001 provides the following definition for the term "governmental unit":

(A) this state and all the several agencies of government that collectively constitute the government of this state, including other agencies bearing different designations, and all departments, bureaus, boards, commissions, offices, agencies, councils, and courts;
(B) a political subdivision of this state, including any city, county, school district, junior college district, levee improvement district, drainage district, irrigation district, water improvement district, water control and improvement district, water control and preservation district, freshwater supply district, navigation district, conservation and reclamation district, soil conservation district, communication district, public health district, and river authority;
(C) an emergency service organization; and
(D) any other institution, agency, or organ of government the status and authority of which are derived from the Constitution of Texas or from laws passed by the legislature under the constitution.

Id. at § 101.001(3).

Appellants do not point to any evidence that they are of the "several agencies of government that collectively constitute the government of this state," "a political subdivision of this state," or "an emergency service organization." See id. However, " section 101.001(3)(D) is a category with a 'broad definition' of 'governmental unit.' " City of Leon Valley Econ. Dev. Corp. v. Little , 422 S.W.3d 37, 40 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 2013, no pet.) (quoting LTTS Charter Sch., Inc. v. C2 Constr., Inc. , 342 S.W.3d 73, 76 (Tex. 2011) ). Thus, we must address whether Appellants are "governmental units" under Section 101.001(3)(D) ("Subsection (D)").

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Orion Real Estate & Woodhill Pub. Facility Corp. v. Sarro, 559 S.W.3d 599 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

559 S.W.3d 599 (Orion Real Estate & Woodhill Pub. Facility Corp. v. Sarro) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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