Opinion ID: 894908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appellate Jurisdiction Over McLellan's Interlocutory Appeal

Text: Absent the State's consent to suit, a trial court has no jurisdiction over claims against the State. Tex. Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638-39 (Tex.1999). Appellate courts have jurisdiction to consider immediate appeals of interlocutory orders only if a statute explicitly provides such jurisdiction. Stary v. DeBord, 967 S.W.2d 352, 352-53 (Tex. 1998). In this case, the court of appeals held it was without jurisdiction to hear McLellan's appeal pursuant to section 51.014(a)(8) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. 167 S.W.3d at 379. This question of jurisdiction is a question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Holland, 221 S.W.3d 639, 642 (Tex.2007). Our sole objective in construing Section 51.014(a)(8) is to give effect to the Legislature's intent. Monsanto Co. v. Cornerstones Mun. Util. Dist., 865 S.W.2d 937, 939 (Tex.1993). In determining the Legislature's intent, we begin by looking to the plain meaning of the statute's words. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Garrison Contractors, Inc., 966 S.W.2d 482, 484 (Tex.1998). Section 51.014(a) contains two provisions that could arguably be relevant to interlocutory appeals of jurisdictional decisions relating to sovereign immunity: A person may appeal from an interlocutory order of a district court, county court at law, or county court that: . . . . (5) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based on an assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state; . . . . (8) grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit as that term is defined in Section 101.001; . . . . Section 101.001(3) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code defines governmental unit as: (A) this state and all the several agencies of government that collectively constitute the government of this state, including other agencies bearing different designations, and all departments, bureaus, boards, commissions, offices, agencies, councils, and courts; (B) a political subdivision of this state, including any city, county, school district, junior college district, levee improvement district, drainage district, irrigation district, water improvement district, water control and improvement district, water control and preservation district, freshwater supply district, navigation district, conservation and reclamation district, soil conservation district, communication district, public health district, and river authority; (C) an emergency service organization; and (D) any other institution, agency, or organ of government the status and authority of which are derived from the Constitution of Texas or from laws passed by the legislature under the constitution. We strictly construe Section 51.014(a) as a narrow exception to the general rule that only final judgments are appealable. Bally Total Fitness Corp. v. Jackson, 53 S.W.3d 352, 355 (Tex.2001). Had McLellan filed a motion for summary judgment based on an assertion of official immunity, he clearly would be permitted under Section 51.014(a)(5) to appeal an interlocutory denial of his motion for summary judgment. But McLellan did not file such a motion in the trial court and instead asserts a right under Section 51.014(a)(8) to appeal the trial court's interlocutory denial of his plea to the jurisdiction. While it is clear that the Legislature intended only a few and distinct classes of persons to be permitted to bring interlocutory appeals in only a few narrowly drawn situations, there is considerable conflict among the courts of appeals about when state officials qualify to do so. Some courts of appeals have concluded interlocutory review of a plea to the jurisdiction is not available under Section 51.014(a)(8) when state officials are sued in their official capacities because a state official is an individual rather than a governmental unit. See, e.g., Castleberry Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Doe, 35 S.W.3d 777, 780 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2001, pet. dism'd w.o.j.); Dallas County Cmty. Coll. Dist. v. Bolton, 990 S.W.2d 465, 467 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1999, no pet.); Univ. of Houston v. Elthon, 9 S.W.3d 351, 354 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, pet. dism'd w.o.j.). A second group has held all state officials are entitled under Section 51.014(a)(8) to appeal a trial court's interlocutory ruling on a jurisdictional plea because a state official qualifies as a governmental unit in the sense that he stands in the shoes of the State. See, e.g., De Mino v. Sheridan, 176 S.W.3d 359, 365 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.); Smith v. Lutz, 149 S.W.3d 752, 756 (Tex.App.-Austin 2004, no pet.); Potter County Attorney's Office v. Stars & Stripes Sweepstakes, L.L.C., 121 S.W.3d 460, 464 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2003, no pet.); Nueces County v. Ferguson, 97 S.W.3d 205, 214-15 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2002, no pet.). Straddling that split is the court of appeals in this case, which held some state officials, such as a county sheriff, are entitled to appeal a trial court's interlocutory order on a plea to the jurisdiction because their positions are governmental units by virtue of the fact that they are derived from the Texas Constitution. 167 S.W.3d at 377-79 (citing TEX. CONST. art. V, § 23; TEX. GOV'T CODE § 101.001(3)(D)). Those officials who are not so situated must rely instead, under the court's holding, on a motion for summary judgment under Section 51.014(a)(5) because they are considered individuals rather than governmental units. Id. In arguing Section 51.014(a)(8) does not permit state officials to appeal the trial court's denial of his plea to the jurisdiction, Koseoglu contrasts the language of Section 51.014(a)(8) with the language in Section 51.014(a)(5). Whereas Section 51.014(a)(8) permits interlocutory appeals of a trial court's grant or denial of a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit, Section 51.014(a)(5) permits interlocutory appeals of a trial court's denial of a motion for summary judgment by an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state. The Legislature, Koseoglu asserts, should be presumed to have understood the difference between an individual who is an officer or employee of the state, on the one hand, and a governmental unit on the other, when specifying the categories of persons that are permitted to employ the narrow exception to the general rule. Likewise, Koseoglu argues, the Legislature should be presumed to have understood the difference between a motion for summary judgment as it is used in Section 51.014(a)(5) and a plea to the jurisdiction as it is used in Section 51.014(a)(8). But Koseoglu's premise that the class of persons to which Section 51.014(a)(8) applies is confined by the term governmental unit is incorrect. This becomes clear when one considers which terms or phrases in Section 51.014(a) specify what can be appealed and who is entitled to pursue an appeal. Koseoglu argues the what applicable to Section 51.014(a)(5) is a motion for summary judgment and the who is an individual who is an officer or employee of the state. Likewise, he argues the what in Section 51.014(a)(8) is a plea to the jurisdiction and the who is a governmental unit. We disagree. The text of Section 51.014(a) makes it clear that the who applicable to each subsection is the term person that appears at the beginning of the statute. There is no indication that the phrases an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a governmental unit in Sections 51.014(a)(5) and 51.014(a)(8), respectively, are intended to modify the term person. Instead, those phrases and others in the various subsections of the statute describe exactly what may be appealed from an interlocutory order. For example, Texas A & M and McLellan cite Sections 51.014(a)(5) and 51.014(a)(6) as support for their proposition that only one class of person may appeal the orders described in Section 51.014(a). Section 51.014(a)(6) permits a person to appeal from an interlocutory order that: denies a motion for summary judgment that is based in whole or in part upon a claim against or defense by a member of the electronic or print media, acting in such capacity, or a person whose communication appears in or is published by the electronic or print media, arising under the free speech or free press clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or Article I, Section 8, of the Texas Constitution, or Chapter 73. Thus, Section 51.014(a)(6) limits interlocutory appeals to members of the electronic or print media in certain instances involving the free speech or free press clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It can only be read as allowing appeals by members of the media or a person whose communication appears in or is published by the media. No other person would typically have standing to appeal a denial of a motion for summary judgment that is based in whole or in part upon a claim against or defense by a member of the electronic or print media . . . or a person whose communication appears in or is published by the electronic or print media. Similarly, there is no other way to read Section 51.014(a)(5) than to conclude that only an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state may appeal an interlocutory order denying a motion for summary judgment. The only other entity that would generally have standing to file such an appeal would be a governmental body, but the words of Section 51.014(a)(5) offer no indication or suggestion that it applies to any entity other than a state official, the only entity which it describes. This stands to reason because an official sued in his individual capacity would assert official immunity as a defense to personal monetary liability, which is well suited for resolution in a motion for summary judgment. See City of Lancaster v. Chambers, 883 S.W.2d 650, 653 (Tex.1994) (discussing summary judgment resolution of official immunity considerations such as whether the official acted in bad faith). But an official sued in his official capacity would assert sovereign immunity. To challenge a trial court's jurisdiction on the grounds of sovereign immunity, a party may file a plea to the jurisdiction. Tex. Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex.1999). Pleas to the jurisdiction asserting sovereign immunity are the subject of Section 51.014(a)(8). Section 51.014(a)(8) differs from Sections 51.014(a)(5) and 51.014(a)(6) because, by its plain language allowing for interlocutory appeals of orders granting or denying pleas to the jurisdiction, it cannot be read as applying solely to a governmental unit, the entity which it describes. Interpreting governmental unit to modify the term persons, as Koseoglu would have us do, would preclude an aggrieved plaintiff, who is plainly not a governmental unit, from bringing an interlocutory appeal to challenge the grant of a jurisdictional plea. This would be inconsistent with the express language of Section 51.014(a)(8). It would be irrational for the Legislature to have intended that a governmental unit be the only person who may appeal from an interlocutory order because a governmental unit would have no reason to appeal the grant of a plea to the jurisdiction. For the entire phrase grants or denies to be given effect, the statute must allow an appeal to be filed by both a non-governmental plaintiff challenging the grant of a plea to the jurisdiction and a governmental defendant challenging the denial of one. [1] Given that Section 51.014(a)(8) necessarily applies to entities other than governmental units, there is no basis for construing it to exclude state officials. Whereas the Legislature intentionally restricted the application of Sections 51.014(a)(5) and 51.014(a)(6) by allowing interlocutory appeals only from a denial of a motion for summary judgment, Section 51.014(a)(8) is deliberately made more generous in its application. There is no reason to believe the Legislature intended the statute to apply to all parties who ordinarily would have standing to appeal an interlocutory order granting or denying a jurisdictional plea with the sole exception of state officials. First, such an interpretation would not comport with the text of the statute because, just as Section 51.014(a)(8) gives no indication it excludes non-governmental plaintiffs, it also gives no indication it excludes state officials. Second, construing Section 51.014(a)(8) to exclude state officials would draw an artificial distinction between pleas filed by governmental entities and pleas filed by state officials asserting the entities' sovereign immunity from suit, a distinction we believe the Legislature could not have intended. When a state official files a plea to the jurisdiction, the official is invoking the sovereign immunity from suit held by the government itself. It is fundamental that a suit against a state official is merely another way of pleading an action against the entity of which [the official] is an agent. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985) (quoting Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 690 n. 55, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)); see also Tex. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Petta, 44 S.W.3d 575, 581 (Tex.2001). A suit against a state official in his official capacity is not a suit against the official personally, for the real party in interest is the entity. Graham, 473 U.S. at 166, 105 S.Ct. 3099 (emphasis in original). Such a suit actually seeks to impose liability against the governmental unit rather than on the individual specifically named and is, in all respects other than name, . . . a suit against the entity. Id.; see also Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm'n v. IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d 849, 855-56 (Tex.2002). Thus, we conclude McLellan's appeal fits squarely into those appeals permitted by Section 51.014(a)(8). Read in whole, the statute provides that a person, in this instance McLellan, may appeal from an interlocutory order . . . that . . . grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit, such as Texas A & M, as that term is defined in Section 101.001. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 51.014(a)(8). This construction is supported not only by the plain language of Section 51.014(a), but also by its logical application. A person sued in an official capacity should be able to appeal the denial of a jurisdictional plea in the same way as his employing governmental unit because both defendants' interests in pleading sovereign immunity are identical. We are aware of no sound rationale for distinguishing one from the other. To the contrary, there are sound reasons to treat the state official sued in his official capacity and his employing governmental entity equally under Section 51.014(a)(8). Construing Section 51.014(a)(8) to exclude state officials sued in their official capacity would make appellate jurisdiction in a case such as this turn on the same kind of technical distinctions about the form of pleadings that we rejected in Department of Criminal Justice v. Simons, 140 S.W.3d 338, 349 (Tex.2004). In Simons, we held the term plea to the jurisdiction in Section 51.014(a)(8) refers to the substance of the immunity argument rather than to a particular procedural vehicle. Id. This case demonstrates the type of inefficiencies that would otherwise result. Here, the court of appeals held it could consider Texas A & M's plea on interlocutory appeal but not McLellan's. 167 S.W.3d at 384. If McLellan were to now go back to the trial court to file a motion for summary judgment based on sovereign immunity, and if his motion were denied, he would then file what would be his second interlocutory appeal in this case seeking substantively identical relief. This situation could be expected to all too often repeat itself in other cases because a trial court's orders on a jurisdictional plea and a motion for summary judgment often occur across too broad a spectrum of time to be appealed as part of the defendant's same interlocutory appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b), 28.1 (requiring a notice of interlocutory appeal to be filed within twenty days of a particular order being challenged). The legislative history of Section 51.014(a) underscores the Legislature's concern with preventing such inefficiency. For example, Section 51.014(a)(8) was designed to reduce litigation expenses for all parties involved in suits against state entities by resolving the question of sovereign immunity prior to suit rather than after a full trial on the merits. [2] These cost savings apply equally regardless of whether the plaintiff chooses to style his petition against a governmental entity or a state official. Likewise, the purpose of the provision was to allow state agencies to more quickly ascertain whether or not a trial court could assert jurisdiction over a dispute. See Debate on Tex. S.B. 453 Before the House Comm. on Civil Practices, 75th Leg., R.S. (1997) (statement of Representative Pete Gallego). That concern too is equally justified regardless of whether a plaintiff has chosen to style his petition against a state official or the governmental entity itself. As may typically occur, an official sued in both his official and individual capacities can file a plea to the jurisdiction in defense of the official capacity claims against him and at the same time file a motion for summary judgment on official immunity grounds on the individual capacity claims against him. If either is denied, he may immediately appeal under Section 51.014(a)(8) or 51.014(a)(5), whichever applies. In this case, McLellan filed a plea to the jurisdiction in defense of claims against him in his official capacity [3] Accordingly, Section 51.014(a)(8) vests the appellate courts with jurisdiction to hear McLellan's interlocutory appeal. Alternatively, Koseoglu suggests the availability of interlocutory appeal under Section 51.014(a)(8) turns not on the capacity in which the state official is sued, but on whether the official serves a legislative, judicial, or administrative function. But Koseoglu offers no authority for the proposition that this distinction is relevant to Section 51.014(a)(8), and we are aware of none. Thus, the court of appeals erred in concluding it was without jurisdiction to hear McLellan's appeal.