The opinion
Opinion issued May 22, 2012.
In The
Court of
Appeals
For The
First District
of Texas
————————————
NO. 01-11-00196-CV
———————————
The CITY Of houston , Appellant
V.
SAN JUANA
RODRIGUEZ INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT FRIEND OF JUAN RODRIGUEZ , Appellee
On Appeal from the County Court at Law
Number 4
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 979,692
CONCURRING OPINION
This
Court has already decided the issue presented in this case: whether the Tort Claims Act’s election-of-remedies
provision bars a plaintiff’s tort claims against a governmental unit when the
plaintiff initially sued both the governmental unit and its employee. See City of Houston v. Esparza , No. 01–11–00046–CV, 2011 WL 4925990 ,
at *5–10(Tex. App.—Houston [1stDist.] Oct. 7, 2011, pet. filed). [1] I would follow this Court’s
controlling precedent and affirm the trial court’s denial of the city’s plea to
the jurisdiction.
I
therefore concur in the Court’s opinion.
Harvey Brown
Justice
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Sharp, and Brown.
Justice Brown, concurring.
[1] Since
its issuance, this Court has consistently followed Esparza . S ee, e.g. , City of Houston v.
Gwinn , No. 01-11-00524-CV,
2012 WL 1068591 , at *1 – 2 (Tex. App.—Houston
[1st Dist.] Mar. 29, 2012, no. pet. h.) (mem. op.) (following Esparza ); Metro. Transit Auth. v.
Light , No. 01-11-00747-CV, 2012 WL 252187 , at *1 – 2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan.
26, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. Tsaig , No.
01-11-00432-CV, 2012 WL 170606 , at *2 – 3
(Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 19, 2012, no pet.) (mem. op.) (same); Tex.
Dep’t of Aging & Disability Servs. v. Johnson , No. 01-11-00526-CV, 2012
WL 27728 , at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Jan. 5, 2012, no pet.) (mem.
op.) (same); City of Houston v. Marquez , No. 01-11-00493-CV, 2011 WL
6147772 , at *2 – 3 (Tex. App.—Houston
[1st Dist.] Dec. 8, 2011, no pet.)(mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v.
McClain , No. 01-11-00194-CV, 2011 WL 6015697 , at *2 – 3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec.
1, 2011, pet. filed) (mem. op.) (same); City of Houston v. San Miguel , No. 01–10–01071–CV, 2011 WL
5429048 , at *2–3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 10, 2011, no. pet. h.) (mem.
op.) (same). Several other courts of appeals have also followed Esparza . See, e.g. , Tex. Tech Univ. Health Scis. Ctr. v. Villagran ,
No. 07-11-0257-CV, 2012 WL 967366, at *7 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Mar. 22, 2012, no.
pet. h.); Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety , No. 04-11-00271-CV, 2012 WL 726916 ,
at *4–7 (Tex. App.—San Antonio March 7, 2012, no pet. h.).