Supreme Court
Tex. Dep’t of Transp. v. Self
- Case number: 22-0585
- Legal category: Governmental Immunity
- Subtype: Independent Contractors
- Set for oral argument: November 30, 2023
Case Summary
This case presents two questions involving the scope of the Texas Tort Claims Act’s immunity waiver: (1) whether a governmental employee’s control over a third‑party contractor constitutes “operation or use” under the Act’s waiver of immunity for property damage “aris[ing] from” the operation or use of motor‑driven equipment, and (2) whether a subcontractor’s workers who removed trees from private property adjacent to a public roadway were TxDOT “employees” under the statute.
In a negligence and inverse‑condemnation suit alleging improper removal of trees outside of a right‑of‑way easement, the trial court denied TxDOT’s plea to the jurisdiction. The court of appeals affirmed as to the negligence claim but dismissed the takings claim for want of jurisdiction.
The appeals court acknowledged a split of authority regarding waiver of immunity based on control over motor‑driven equipment that was physically operated by someone other than a state employee. Without weighing in on the debate, the court held that (1) TxDOT did not exercise sufficient control over the tree‑removal equipment to invoke the Act’s immunity waiver under the more expansive line of cases; however, (2) evidence that TxDOT actually controlled the details of the tree‑removal task created a fact issue about whether the workers were “employees” rather than independent contractors. In dismissing the inverse‑condemnation claim, the court found no evidence of “intent” as required to sustain the claim.
The Supreme Court granted the parties’ cross‑petitions for review.
Case summaries are created by the Court's staff attorneys and law clerks and do not constitute the Court’s official descriptions or statements. Readers are encouraged to review the Court’s official opinions for specifics regarding each case. Links to the full case documents are included above.