Litigation, Official/Qualified Immunity, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

Since volunteer firefighter is not an employee, no waiver of immunity exists for his car accident

Freer Volunteer Fire Department v. April Wallace, Individually and Next Friend of Gabriella Wallace, 04-16-00373-CV (Tex. App— San Antonio, October 5,2016) This is a Texas Tort Claims Act case where the involving a volunteer fire department and whether an individual is a
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Constitutional Challenge, Declaratory Judgments, Health and Safety, Injunction, Litigation, Procedure

City not required to adopt formal criteria for non-consent tow list and may consider intangible/subjective factors

 Integrity Collision Center v. City of Fulshear, No. 15-20560 ( 5th Cir. September 20,2016) This is an injunction case where a tow-truck company sued to compel the City to include it in the City’s non-consent tow list. The U.S. Court of Appeals
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Constitutional Challenge, Litigation, Procedure, Public Works, Sovereign Immunity, Takings

Homeowners properly pled a taking by flooding due to channel reconstruction and temporary embankments says El Paso Court of Appeals

  CITY OF SOCORRO, Texas v.  SAMUEL CAMPOS, et al, 08-14-00295-CV (Tex.App— El Paso, September 14,2016) This is a takings/flooding case where the El Paso Court of Appeals held the Plaintiffs properly pled a takings case. The residents contend that the City
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Discrimination, Employment Law, Litigation

Ex-employee unable to establish direct evidence of age discrimination and failed to establish someone younger was hired instead

  Juan Bazaldua Jr. v. City of Lyford, Texas, 13-16-00004-CV (Tex.App— Corpus Christi, September 1, 2016) This is an age-discrimination case where the Thirteenth Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the City’s plea to the jurisdiction. Bazaldua was a forty-nine-year-old laborer
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Constitutional Challenge, Litigation, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

No waiver of immunity where County provided pain medication to pretrial detainee before hearing which allegedly caused detainee to misunderstand guilty plea

Loyd Landon Sorrow v. Harris County, Et Al, 14-15-00571-CV (Tex. App— Houston [14th Dist.], August 23,2016) Sorrow was a pretrial detainee housed in the Harris County Jail. Sorrow asserts that during pre-trial detention he received medical treatment that included anti-psychotics and narcotics.
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Constitutional Challenge, Employment Law, Litigation, Mandamus, Procedure, Takings, Whistleblower

Town’s Interlocutory appeal timely under scheduling order, but permissive appeal by Plaintiff was untimely

Sarah Swanson v. Town of Shady Shores, 02-15-00351-CV (Tex.App— Fort Worth, August 18,2016) This is a Texas Whistleblower Act, Texas Open Meetings Act, due process, free speech and Sabine Pilot case, but the main thrust of the appeal is litigation/appellate procedure. So,
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ADA, Discrimination, Employment Law, Litigation

Amarillo Court of Appeals holds 1) no race discrimination when employer hires from same protected class, 2) broken ankle is not ADA disability in this case, 3) age difference alone is not enough

Arnold Jordan v. Tarrant County Hospital District d/b/a JPs Health Network, 07-16-00034-CV (Tex. App—Amarillo, August 2, 2016) This is an employment discrimination case where the Amarillo Court of Appeals affirmed the granting of the Hospital District’s summary judgment motion. Jordan alleges Tarrant
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