City of Houston v. San Juan Rodriguez Individually and as Next Friend of Juan Rodriguez

Opinion issued May 22, 2012.

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

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NO. 01-11-00196-CV

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The CITY Of houston, Appellant

V.

SAN JUANA RODRIGUEZ INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT FRIEND OF JUAN RODRIGUEZ, Appellee

 

 

On Appeal from the County Court at Law Number 4

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Case No. 979,692

 

 

CONCURRING OPINION

          This Court has already decided the issue presented in this case: whether the Tort Claims Act’s election-of-remedies provision bars a plaintiff’s tort claims against a governmental unit when the plaintiff initially sued both the governmental unit and its employee.See City of Houston v. Esparza, No. 01–11–00046–CV, 2011 WL 4925990, at *5–10(Tex. App.—Houston [1stDist.] Oct. 7, 2011, pet. filed).[1]I would follow this Court’s controlling precedent and affirm the trial court’s denial of the city’s plea to the jurisdiction.

          I therefore concur in the Court’s opinion.

 

                                                                    Harvey Brown

                                                                   Justice

 

Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Sharp, and Brown.

Justice Brown, concurring.



[1]           Since its issuance, this Court has consistently followed Esparza.See, e.g.,City of Houston v. Gwinn, No. 01-11-00524-CV, 2012 WL 1068591, at *12 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 29, 2012, no. pet. h.) (mem. op.) (following Esparza); Metro. Transit Auth. v. Light, No. 01-11-00747-CV, 2012 WL 252187, at *12 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 26, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. Tsaig, No. 01-11-00432-CV, 2012 WL 170606, at *23 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 19, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same); Tex. Dep’t of Aging & Disability Servs. v. Johnson, No. 01-11-00526-CV, 2012 WL 27728, at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 5, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. Marquez, No. 01-11-00493-CV, 2011 WL 6147772, at *23 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 8, 2011, no pet.)(mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. McClain, No. 01-11-00194-CV, 2011 WL 6015697, at *23 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 1, 2011, pet. filed) (mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. San Miguel, No. 01–10–01071–CV, 2011 WL 5429048, at *2–3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 10, 2011, no. pet. h.) (mem. op.) (same). Several other courts of appeals have also followed Esparza. See, e.g., Tex. Tech Univ. Health Scis. Ctr. v. Villagran, No. 07-11-0257-CV, 2012 WL 967366, at *7 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Mar. 22, 2012, no. pet. h.); Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, No. 04-11-00271-CV, 2012 WL 726916, at *4–7 (Tex. App.—San Antonio March 7, 2012, no pet. h.).