Discrimination, Employment Law, Litigation, Procedure, Retaliation, Sovereign Immunity

180 day deadline to file charge of discrimination runs from date of adverse action, not the date employee discovers action is discriminatory says Austin Court of Appeals

Austin Independent School District v. Andrew Lofters, 03-14-00071-CV (Tex. App. – Austin, April 1, 2015) In this race discrimination/retaliation case the Third Court of Appeals reversed the denial of the a plea to the jurisdiction for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Lofters,
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Declaratory Judgments, Land Use, Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA, Ultra Vires, Vested Rigths

Suit against City employee, individually, dismissed, but ultra-vires claims remain even under Sec. 101.106 of Civil Practice and Remedies Code

Charles N. Draper v. Greg Guernsey, in his Capacity as Director of Planning and Development Watershed Protection Review Department; and City of Austin, 03-14-00265-CV (Tex. App. – Austin, February 25, 2015). This is a land-use dispute but the opinion focuses on the
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Litigation, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

Texas Supreme Court holds immunity is waived for deputy’s re-positioning of patrol vehicle causing lights to hit oncoming traffic

RYDER INTEGRATED LOGISTICS, INC. v. FAYETTE COUNTY, TEXAS, 13-0968 (Tex. February 6, 2015) This is a Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) case involving a motor vehicle collision of two eighteen-wheelers and involves the interpretation of Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §101.021(1)(a)(i.e.
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Contracts, Public Works, Sovereign Immunity

Commission is mere funding conduit and not recipient of “goods or services” under disaster relief contract; warranty and indemnity clause does not alter status

South East Texas Regional Planning Commission v. Byrdson Services, LLC, d/b/a Excello Construction, LLC, 09-14-00198-CV (Tex. App. – Beaumont, January 22, 2015). This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction in which the Beaumont Court of
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Constitutional Challenge, Litigation, Official/Qualified Immunity, Procedure, Sec. 1983, Sovereign Immunity, TTCA

Texas Supreme Court says Tort Claims Act dismissal does not affect amended pleadings which add sec. 1983 claims

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES V. WATSON, et al. 12-0830 (Tex. January 9, 2015) This is a Texas Tort Claims Act case where the Texas Supreme Court holds that while individual employees are entitled to dismissal for tort claims, they
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Civil Service/Collective Bargaining, Declaratory Judgments, Employment Law, Litigation, Mandamus, Procedure, Sovereign Immunity, Ultra Vires

Civil Service Director ordered to submit appeal to independent hearing examiner, but City immune from damages

Richard Stubbs v. The City of Weslaco, et al., 13-14-00054-CV (Tex. App. —  Corpus Christi, January 8, 2015). This is an appeal from the dismissal of a mandamus action where the 13th Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal and ordered the trial
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Civil Service/Collective Bargaining, Discrimination, Employment Law, Sovereign Immunity

Sergeant’s offered comparators we not “nearly identical” to support discrimination claim says 1st Court of Appeals

  Harris County, Texas v. Kenneth Bankhead, 01-13-01005-CV (Tex. App. – Houston [1st Dist.], December 30, 2014) This is an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction in a race discrimination employment case. The First District Court of
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