63 results for 'cat:"Government" AND cat:"Immunity"'.
J. Devine finds that the court of appeals improperly ruled in a wrongful death case filed by the family of a cyclist who was killed when a Houston police patrol car struck him as the officer was responding to a call. The officer's actions were done in the course of his duties and were done in good faith. Because the family failed to present evidence to refute those conclusions, the city is entitled to sovereign immunity and dismissal of the case. Revered.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Devine, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 22-1074, Categories: government, immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Wooton reverses the lower court's order partially granting motions of two municipal police departments, their respective police chiefs and two officers to dismiss a motorist's amended complaint alleging the officers wrongfully arrested him for disorderly conduct, and later DUI, after he made remarks on how their vehicles were parked at an apartment complex while responding to a call for a vehicle break-in. The judge committed plain error by basing her immunity decisions on common law qualified immunity principles applicable only to the state of West Virginia or its employees and agents and not on the West Virginia Tort Claims Act applicable to political subdivisions and their employees. Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wooton, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 22-428, Categories: government, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Russel finds the lower court improperly concluded that sovereign immunity barred the successor's claims. The Virginia Department of Transportation contracted a contractor for construction inspection and permitted them to bill VDOT for certain overhead costs, including the cost of rental vehicles. Because of the nature of the projects at issue, VDOT, in turn, could seek reimbursement from the federal government for the expenses it reimbursed so long as VDOT complied with Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions. The FAR clauses purportedly did not allow VDOT to receive reimbursement for expenses paid to the successor, an entity under its common control. The parties eventually mediated the claims and agreed upon a settlement agreement that the contractor felt it had no choice, given its economic situation, but to sign. It later received information previously withheld that led to the suit, filed in part to invalidate the settlement agreement. Sovereign immunity doesn’t apply to claims based on express contracts. Reversed.
Court: Virginia Supreme Court, Judge: Russel , Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 230365, Categories: government, immunity, Contract
J. Jones finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, granting its plea to the jurisdiction in a lawsuit brought by a dentist who challenged disciplinary actions taken against him. Officials enjoy a broad authority to interpret rules and statutes and the alleged violations do not merit waiving the board's immunity. Affirmed
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Jones, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00752-CV, Categories: Administrative Law, government, immunity
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Byrne finds that the trial court properly in part ruled in a case in which a court reporter and her firm sued the Judicial Brand Certification Commission for allowing another reporting firm to provide services without proper certification. The trial court correctly denied the commission’s plea to the jurisdiction for the reporter’s petition for mandamus relief. However, the trial court incorrectly denied the commission’s plea to the jurisdiction against the judicial review, because such a review is not an available option within this administrative context. Affirmed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Byrne, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00245-CV, Categories: Administrative Law, government, immunity
J. Heytens finds the lower court properly denied the electoral board members' motion to dismiss First Amendment claims. The City of Lynchburg's registrar from 2018 to 2023 claims the board's two Republican members refused to reappoint her to the position, not for the failure of duty but because she was not a loyal Donald Trump supporter. The members are correct in assuming sovereign immunity bars the registrar from recovering monetary damages, but she is entitled to seek injunctive relief. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytens, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 23-1902, Categories: government, immunity, First Amendment
J. Devine finds that the court of appeals improperly ruled against a private developer in a contract case it filed against the City of San Antonio water system. Based on a contract it formed with the city, the developer alleged that the city was obligated to reserve sewer capacity for a housing development project. The court of appeals granted the city's motion to dismiss the case, citing governmental immunity, and finding that the city had no contractual right to reserve the capacity. However, the contract entered into by the developer and the city waived the city's immunity because it effectively outlined the terms of the project, forming an agreement between the parties. Reversed.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Devine, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 22-0481, Categories: government, Water, immunity
J. Busby finds that the court of appeals improperly ruled against San Jacinto River Authority, dismissing its claims against municipalities for failing to pay dues under water contracts. The court of appeals dismissed the river authority's claims against the municipalities, finding they had governmental immunity. While the municipalities cannot be forced to mediate the case as asserted by the river authority, the water contracts do waive their governmental immunity. Reversed.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Busby, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 22-0649, Categories: government, Water, immunity
J. Biggs grants the federal government’s motion to dismiss tort allegations brought by an immigrant man who had temporary protected status when ICE arrested him. ICE agents pulled the man and his son over, citing issues with the man’s license plate. The details that followed are contested between the parties, but the man alleges he was falsely arrested and imprisoned in shackles for six or seven hours, then inexplicably let go a 25-minute drive from his vehicle. Thanks to an exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act, the ICE agents are immune from the suit.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1008, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: government, Immigration, immunity
J. Byrne finds that the trial court improperly ruled against a public charter school, denying its plea to the jurisdiction in a breach of contract case filed by a law firm accusing the school of failing to pay for legal services. The law firm failed to show that the contract was ratified by the school board, thus establishing a waiver of immunity. Because such a waiver has not been established, the school's jurisdictional plea should have been granted and the law firm's claims dismissed. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Byrne, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00200-CV, Categories: government, immunity, Contract
J. Africk grants an unopposed request by New Orleans’ Inspector General to dismiss claims filed by the former director of the city’s juvenile detention center, who resigned amid media investigations following the OIG’s investigative report alleging long absences from work, neglect of duty and breaches of the city’s swipe-card security system. The ex-director says he was denied due process. He alleged the OIG’s report on him denied him future work opportunities and destroyed his personal business endeavors. Neither harm to the ex-director's reputation nor the consequent impairment of future business or employment opportunities qualifies as a constitutionally cognizable injury.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Africk, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv6607, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, government, immunity
J. Byrne finds that the trial court improperly ruled against the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in a case arising from its attempts to recover historical documents from the possessor of archives allegedly removed unlawfully. None of the claims raised by the possessor waive the commission's sovereign authority as a governmental body; therefore, all of her claims should be dismissed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Byrne, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 03-22-00276-CV, Categories: government, immunity
J. Jennings denies the government's motion to dismiss a protestor's claims he was peacefully sharing his message on a public sidewalk outside Churchill Downs when he was arrested by a state trooper for criminal trespass, a charge that was later dropped. Defendant claims he was traumatized by his transport and incarceration due to combat PTSD. Facts demonstrate a clear injury-in-fact, traceable directly to the government's permitting scheme, although the trooper is entitled to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Western District of Kentucky, Judge: Jennings , Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv235, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, government, immunity
J. Connolly dismisses a civil rights action challenging the eviction of a legally-blind man and his children from his rented home. The complaint fails to state plausible claims of discrimination by the judicial officers, who simply executed the orders of the court, and the governmental entities are immune from suit.
Court: USDC Delaware, Judge: Connolly, Filed On: March 19, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv415, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, government, immunity
J. Cradle finds the lower court properly granted the city and its employee's motion for summary judgment on negligence claims brought by the mother of the child injured by a falling tree in a public park. All of the duties at issue in the case, including the inspection and flagging of the tree as a possible hazard, did not involve any discretion on the part of the employee, which entitled her and the city to governmental immunity. Affirmed in part.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Cradle, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: AC45807, Categories: government, immunity, Negligence
Per curiam, the Texas Supreme Court vacates the court of appeals' judgment in a governmental immunity case in which a contractor claimed that the city of Hutto failed to pay it after its work was complete. The court of appeals agreed with the city's assertion that the contractor's claims were barred by governmental immunity because the contract signed between the parties was not properly completed. However, due to the Texas legislature's recent passage of a bill requiring governmental entities to notify contractors of failures to properly complete the contract process before beginning work, the case must be remanded to the trial court for further consideration.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 22-0973, Categories: government, immunity, Contract
J. Kennedy finds that discretionary immunity is a jurisdictional bar, not an affirmative defense, to claims brought against the state, including the one filed against Ohio State University by students who lost certain fees when in-person learning was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the case must be remanded to the appeals court to determine whether the university is immune from suit for its actions. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-764, Categories: government, immunity, Jurisdiction
J. Walker reverses the lower court's order denying the social services agency’s motion to dismiss two negligence claims from a woman's suit claiming it violated the West Virginia Child Welfare Act and Human Trafficking Statute, when the child protective services worker assigned to her case lured her into confiding in him and then supplied her with drugs and alcohol and sexually assaulted her at a hotel. The judge erred in not finding the department has qualified immunity since the woman failed either to state a claim in her amended complaint of how the department negligently violated the Child Welfare Act or identify any "bad actors" within the department who failed to properly train and supervise the worker. Reversed.
Court: West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals, Judge: Walker, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-0389, Categories: government, immunity, Negligence
[Consolidated.] J. Eckerle finds that claims should be dismissed in contending the legislative research commission violated the state constitution by challenging house bill 334, which terminated the unexpired terms of current members and altered the composition of the executive branch ethics commission, as the legislative research commission was entitled to immunity. Reversed.
Court: Kentucky Court Of Appeals, Judge: Eckerle, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 2022-CA-0837-MR, Categories: Constitution, government, immunity
J. Soto finds a lower court did not err in granting El Paso County’s plea to the jurisdiction after it was sued by a citizen who accused the county sheriff’s office of ignoring reports that a stable was mistreating animals, including her own horse. The burden is on the citizen to show why immunity should be waived, which she “has not attempted to do.” Regardless, the Texas Tort Claims Act “does not waive immunity for intentional torts.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Soto, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00192-CV, Categories: government, Tort, immunity
[Consolidated.] J. Bell grants the IRS’s motion to dismiss tort allegations brought by one of its employees and her husband, who claim another agent harassed the employee at work. The government correctly invokes sovereign immunity; further, the employee already filed a state case against the agent that was dismissed with prejudice, so this claim fails.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv149, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: government, Tort, immunity
J. Hart finds that although the parking garage is not fully enclosed and lacks HVAC equipment, the permanent nature of the structure and its inclusion of electricity and a surrounding wall qualifies it as a building under Colorado law, which prevents application of governmental immunity on the injured patron's premises liability claim. Additionally, the illusive nature of the surface that caused the patron's injuries was caused, at least in part, by the choice of resurfacing materials made during maintenance of the structure, which similarly prevents application of immunity for design defects; therefore, the patron's suit will proceed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 2024CO7, Categories: government, immunity, Premises Liability
J. Wray finds the lower court properly dismissed the father's complaint against the probation officers because their alleged failure to respond to his concerns about drug use by a parolee in the home where his son lived involved actions taken as an arm of the court and integral to the judicial process, which entitled the officers to quasi-judicial immunity. Affirmed.
Court: New Mexico Court of Appeals, Judge: Wray, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: A-1-CA-40083, Categories: government, immunity
J. Cole finds the lower court properly denied two of the Cincinnati police officers' motion for immunity on civil rights claims filed by the victims of a collision during a high-speed chase. Although the chase was the result of a joint investigation with the ATF, neither of the officers were deputized or under the direct command of a federal officer; therefore, they were not federal employees acting within the scope of their official duties. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Cole, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 22-5496, Categories: Civil Rights, government, immunity
J. Baker finds that the trial court properly denied Texas State University's plea to the jurisdiction and motion for summary judgment in a grandmother's injury suit alleging she fell from a flight of stairs on the campus. There were no signs to warn users of the disproportionately large drop from the final step onto the sidewalk below. The university also fails to prove that its decision not to modify the step's riser height was a "discretionary decision" that preserves its immunity. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Baker, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 03-23-00333-CV, Categories: government, immunity, Premises Liability
J. Marion finds a lower court erred in denying the San Antonio Water System’s plea to the jurisdiction and claims of governmental immunity after it sued a contractor and its insurer for breach of contract related to a public works project and then was countersued by the insurer. While the water system acknowledges that it can be sued for breach of contract, and that that claim is thus still pending, the system is right that other claims, such as for “improper release of contract funds,” must fail on immunity grounds, including because the water system did not enter a contract directly with the insurer. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Marion, Filed On: January 3, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00123-CV, Categories: government, immunity, Contract
Per curiam, the Guam Supreme Court finds the lower court properly dismissed class action claims brought by government employees suing Guam for denied pandemic double pay. The employees did not exhaust their administrative remedies before brining their claims and sovereign immunity bars many of their claims. Affirmed.
Court: Guam Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: CVA23-2, Categories: Employment, government, immunity