Opinion ID: 894815
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sovereign and Governmental Immunity

Text: Sovereign immunity protects the State, its agencies, and its officials from lawsuits for damages. [2] See Tooke v. City of Mexia, 197 S.W.3d 325, 331 n. 11 (Tex.2006); IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d at 853-54; Gen. Serv. Comm'n v. Little-Tex Insulation Co., Inc., 39 S.W.3d 591, 594 (Tex. 2001); Fed. Sign v. Tex. S. University, 951 S.W.2d 401, 405 (Tex.1997). Under this centuries-old common-law doctrine, the sovereign is immune from liability and also from lawsuits. See IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d at 853; Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594; Fed. Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 405. Immunity from liability shields the State from judgments. IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d at 853; Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594; Fed. Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 405. Immunity from suit prohibits a suit against the State unless the Legislature grants consent. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. By entering into a contract the State waives its immunity from liability but not its immunity from suit. Id. Thus, even if the State acknowledges liability on a claim, immunity from suit bars a remedy until the Legislature consents to suit. Taylor, 106 S.W.3d at 695. The State's sovereign immunity extends to various divisions of state government, including agencies, boards, hospitals, and universities. Tooke, 197 S.W.3d at 331; Taylor, 106 S.W.3d at 694 n. 3. The appurtenant common-law doctrine of governmental immunity similarly protects political subdivisions of the State, including counties, cities, and school districts. Taylor, 106 S.W.3d at 694 n. 3; see also Harris County v. Sykes, 136 S.W.3d 635, 638 (Tex.2004). A political subdivision enjoys governmental immunity from suit to the extent that immunity has not been abrogated by the Legislature. See IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d at 853. It is clear that the Fund in this case is composed of members which, like Ben Bolt, are themselves governmental units entitled to immunity. However, the Fund asserts discrete governmental-unit status in its own right separate and apart from its members. If it is true, as the Fund contends, that the Fund itself enjoys immunity from suit, then the extent to which the Fund might derive immunity from its members is immaterial. Accordingly, we begin by examining the nature of the Fund.