Opinion ID: 895305
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Heading: Local Government Code Section 271.152’s Waiver of Governmental Immunity

Text: Local Government Code section 271.152 waives qualifying local governmental entities’ immunity from suit for certain breach of contract claims, providing: A local governmental entity that is authorized by statute or the constitution to enter into a contract and that enters into a contract subject to this subchapter waives sovereign immunity to suit for the purpose of adjudicating a claim for breach of the contract, subject to the terms and conditions of this subchapter. Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 271.152. According to its plain terms, the statute by clear and unambiguous language waives a governmental entity’s immunity from suit for breach of written contract. Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Tex. Political Subdivs. Prop./Cas. Joint Self-Ins. Fund , 212 S.W.3d 320, 327 (Tex. 2006). For section 271.152’s waiver of immunity to apply, three elements must be established: (1) the party against whom the waiver is asserted must be a “local governmental entity” as defined by section 271.151(3), (2) the entity must be authorized by statute or the Constitution to enter into contracts, and (3) the entity must in fact have entered into a contract that is “subject to this subchapter,” as defined by section 271.151(2). Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §§ 271.151–.152. A “contract subject to this subchapter” is defined as “a written contract stating the essential terms of the agreement for providing goods or services to the local governmental entity that is properly executed on behalf of the local governmental entity.” Id. § 271.151(2). The first and second elements are present as to each of the Firefighters’ claims. Regarding the first, the waiver of immunity in section 271.152 applies to “local governmental entities,” which include municipalities, public school and junior college districts, and various special-purpose districts and authorities. Id. § 271.151(3). The City is incorporated as a home-rule city—a type of municipality— see id. §§ 1.005, 5.004; Act of Mar. 18, 1905, 29th Leg., R.S., ch. 17, 1905 Tex. Spec. Laws 131 (granting Houston’s present Charter), and thus is a “local governmental entity” for whom immunity is waived for certain contract suits under section 271.152. Concerning the second element, because the City is a chartered home-rule city, it meets section 271.152’s requirement that it be “authorized by statute or the constitution to enter into a contract.” See Proctor v. Andrews , 972 S.W.2d 729, 733 (Tex. 1998) (noting that home-rule cities possess all powers of the state not inconsistent with “the Constitution, the general laws, or the city’s charter,” except where limited by statute). Indeed, the City’s Charter specifically authorizes it to “contract and be contracted with.” Houston, Tex., Charter art. II, § 1. The third element presents a more difficult inquiry; that is, whether the City has entered into a “contract subject to this subchapter.” Section 271.151(2) effectively states five elements a contract must meet in order for it to be a contract subject to section 271.152’s waiver of immunity: (1) the contract must be in writing, (2) state the essential terms of the agreement, (3) provide for goods or services, (4) to the local governmental entity, and (5) be executed on behalf of the local governmental entity. Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 271.151(2). To answer that inquiry, we turn to the three separate writings the Firefighters contend are contracts under sections 271.151(2) and 271.152: (1) certain City Ordinances, (2) Local Government Code Chapter 143, and (3) the Agreements.