Houston Court holds City failed to address invitee status as alleged by Plaintiff, so plea was properly denied under TTCA

This is a premise defect case under the Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) in which the First District Court of Appeals held the  City failed to address invitee status vs licensee status in its plea to the jurisdiction.

The City of Houston (“City”) owns Hobby Airport and Southwest Airlines leases a portion of the airport from the City. City ramp agents drag a hose from a water cabinet to the rear of airplanes to refill the water tanks. The hoses have slider guides which help spool the hose back inside the water cabinet, but not all cabinets have such guides, so the ramp agent must use their hands to guide the hose into the cabinet. Plaintiff was a ramp agent working on a hose without a guide when the cabinet’s metal door allegedly closed on her hand, causing injury. Plaintiff sued the City, who filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting plaintiff was a licensee and no actual knowledge of a dangerous condition existed. Plaintiff amended her petition asserting she was an invitee because Southwest paid the City for the use of the area. The City did not amend its plea. The trial court denied the plea and the City appealed.

The plaintiff pleaded in her First Amended Petition, and argued in her plea response, that she was an invitee, not a licensee. The City did not address plaintiff’s invitee argument in its plea or opening brief, nor did it dispute that Southwest pays the City for use of the premises under the referenced lease.  The City merely assumed without explanation that licensee status applied.   As a result, the court of appeals held the plea was properly denied.

If you would like to read this opinion, click here. Panel consists of Justice Rivas-Molloy, Justice Johnson, and Justice Dokupil.  Memorandum opinion by Justice Johnson.