Court Opinion

ID: 9679847
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:10:59.728929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:22.180303
License: Public Domain

LEE, Justice,
dissenting.
I do not believe that the supremb court’s decision in City of Lancaster v. Chambers, 883 S.W.2d 650 (Tex.1993) abrogates Texas summary judgment practice in suits brought against the state to the extent adopted by the majority. The majority conducts its own evidentiary review and because it does not agree with the trial court’s findings, it reverses and renders judgment for the state. I do not believe that the supreme court intended an appellate court, to sit as a “super factfinder” in these particular summary judgment cases. Accordingly, I disagree with the majority’s analysis and note my dissent.
The majority reviews the summary judgment proof submitted by the parties without the aid of the presumptions that are routinely applied to motions for summary judgments. Admittedly, Chambers raises the burden on a plaintiff who brings suit for injuries sustained from a police chase.
[T]he plaintiff must do more than show that a reasonably prudent officer could have decided to stop the pursuit; the plaintiff must show that “no reasonable person in the [officer’s] position could have thought the facts were such that they justified [the officer’s] acts.”
Chambers, 883 S.W.2d at 657.
The burden of proof announced in Chambers, however, should not be confused with the standard of review on appeal. Several courts of appeals have addressed appeals of summary judgments in official immunity eases and have not interpreted Chambers to abrogate the standard of appellate review to be employed in official immunity summary judgment cases. See, e.g., Gallia v. Schreiber, 907 S.W.2d 864, 869-70 (Tex.App. — Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no writ) (finding that plaintiff failed to present any summary judgment proof which refuted that officer acted in good faith); Richardson v. Parker 903 S.W.2d 801, 805-06 (Tex.App. — Dallas 1995, no writ) (holding that constable should have been granted summary judgment because he presented evidence of good faith and plaintiffs response only included conclusory statements and did not include any evidence that “no reasonably prudent officer would have taken the same action”); City of Hempstead v. Kmiec, 902 S.W.2d 118, 121 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no writ) (concluding *111there was proof of good faith because the officer presented evidence of good faith and plaintiffs summary judgment proof did not address reasonableness of officer’s action); Rhodes v. Torres, 901 S.W.2d 794, 799-800 (Tex.App. — Houston [14th Dist.] 1995, no writ) (finding that officer presented summary judgment proof of good faith and determining that there was no evidence that officer did not act in good faith); Cameron County v. Alvarado, 900 S.W.2d 874, 880-81 (Tex.App. — Corpus Christi 1995, writ dism’d w.o.j.) (holding that summary judgment was properly denied because officer did not offer any proof that he acted as a reasonably prudent officer); Victory v. Bills, 897 S.W.2d 506, 509 (Tex.App. — El Paso 1995, no writ) (holding that summary judgment was properly denied because parties presented affidavits squarely opposing each other); see also Dear v. City of Irving, 902 S.W.2d 731, 738-39 (Tex.App. — Austin 1995, writ denied); Johnson v. Sandel, 895 S.W.2d 490, 491-92 (Tex.App. — Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, orig. proceeding) (O’Connor, J. concurring). In fact, Chambers appears to indicate that the standard of review is not changed in conjunction with the heightened burden of proof. See Chambers, 883 S.W.2d at 657 (stating that summary judgments will be harder for the state to obtain in Texas courts than in federal courts because of the differences in summary judgment practices).
It is well settled that in deciding whether there is a disputed fact issue precluding summary judgment, evidence favorable to the non-movant is taken as true and all reasonable inferences must be indulged in favor of the non-movant. The majority, after finding the material facts underlying the determination of good faith are in dispute, has instead indulged reasonable inferences in favor of the state, the movant. As I believe the majority opinion is contrary to accepted summary judgment review, I dissent.