Opinion ID: 2829566
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nature of Immunity

Text: The doctrine of sovereign immunity derives from the common law and has long been part of Texas jurisprudence. See Hosner v. DeYoung, 1 Tex. 764, 769 (1847) (holding that the State could not be sued in her own courts absent her consent “and then only in the manner indicated”); see also City of Dallas v. Albert, 354 S.W.3d 368, 373 (Tex. 2011) (“[The] boundaries [of sovereign immunity] are established by the judiciary, but we have consistently held that waivers of it are the prerogative of the Legislature.”). Sovereign immunity in Texas embodies two concepts: immunity from liability and immunity from suit. Albert, 354 S.W.3d at 373. Immunity from liability protects governmental entities from judgments, while immunity from suit completely bars actions against those entities unless the Legislature expressly consents to suit. Reata Constr. Corp. v. City of Dallas, 197 S.W.3d 371, 374 (Tex. 2006); Tooke v. City of Mexia, 197 S.W.3d 325, 332 (Tex. 2006) (“[I]mmunity from suit . . . bars suit against [a governmental] entity altogether.”); Wichita Falls State Hosp. v. Taylor, 106 S.W.3d 692, 696 (Tex. 2003) (“Unlike immunity from suit, immunity from liability does not 6 affect a court’s jurisdiction to hear a case and cannot be raised in a plea to the jurisdiction.”); Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm’n v. IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d 849, 857 (Tex. 2002) (“We again reaffirm that it is the Legislature’s sole province to waive or abrogate sovereign immunity.”); Tex.