Case law

Liberty County Officers Ass'n v. Stewart

903 F. Supp. 1046 · District Court, E.D. Texas · Jul 20, 1995

Harlow and its progeny use qualified immunity to protect state officials for alleged constitutional torts if their conduct does not violate clearly established law effective at the time of the alleged tort. … Plaintiffs maintain that their factual allegations demonstrate defendants violated clearly established law.

Teitel v. University of Houston Board of Regents

285 F. Supp. 2d 865 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Dec 31, 2002

they are entitled to either official or qualified immunity. … “Clearly established,” for purposes of qualified immunity, means that “[t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.”

Freddie Louis Brewer v. Fawn D. Carl

Texas Court of Appeals, 10th District (Waco) · Aug 31, 1995

Carl and Mata assert the affirmative defense of qualified immunity. … Brewer has not established the violation of any statutory or constitutional right and, thus, has failed to overcome Carl's and Mata's qualified immunity.

Chapman v. Gonzales

824 S.W.2d 685 · Court of Appeals of Texas · Jan 23, 1992

Appellant filed a motion for summary judgment based on her individual qualified immunity from liability and suit. The trial court denied the motion. Appellant then perfected this interlocutory appeal pursuant to Tex. … Such a result would be in direct contravention with the purpose of quasi-judicial immunity. Appellant is protected by qualified immunity as a matter of law and is not liable to Gonzales for any negligent acts.

Tiemeyer v. Zaika

947 F. Supp. 1012 · District Court, N.D. Texas · Apr 23, 1996

established. … Child welfare investigators enjoy only qualified immunity. Id.

Reyes v. North Texas Tollway Authority

830 F. Supp. 2d 194 · District Court, N.D. Texas · Nov 14, 2011

Qualified Immunity The individual defendants also argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity. … Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages *210 insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established

Southwestern Bell Telephone, L.P. v. Harris County Toll Road Authority

52 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 579 · Texas Supreme Court · Apr 3, 2009

Other statutes clearly speak to the subject. … Because section 251.102 does not clearly waive governmental immunity, and because Harris County has not otherwise waived its immunity from suit, SBC’s statutory reimbursement claim is barred.

Natalie Ausbie Reynolds v. State

507 S.W.3d 805 · Texas Court of Appeals, 6th District (Texarkana) · Nov 30, 2016

“Qualified immunity shields government officials from civil damages unless the official violated a statutory or constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.” See Reichle v. … Reynolds contends that, even if A.K.’s rights and the scope of Reynolds’ permissible conduct were clearly established, qualified immunity protects her if it was objectively reasonable for her to believe that her actions were

Leyva v. Soltero

966 S.W.2d 765 · Texas Court of Appeals, 8th District (El Paso) · Mar 26, 1998

which relies upon its employees’ claim of official immunity. 3 Here, both Officer Leyva and his employer, the City of Clint, moved for summary judgment claiming official “qualified” immunity and sovereign immunity. … City established the other elements of official immunity.

Alanis v. University of Texas Health Science Center

843 S.W.2d 779 · Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Houston) · Dec 23, 1992

They further asserted the defense of qualified immunity because no defendant violated clearly established law of which a reasonable official would have known. Mr. … Qualified Immunity Notwithstanding our finding above, the defendants would also have available to them the doctrine of qualified immunity.

Lamar University v. Doe

971 S.W.2d 191 · Texas Court of Appeals, 9th District (Beaumont) · Jul 9, 1998

The city employee who shot the pit bulls, though named as a party, did not file a motion for summary judgment and never asserted the affirmative defense of qualified immunity. … We can but conclude that at the time the trial court denied Lamar University’s motion for summary judgment, Lamar University not having asserted the qualified immunity of its employees, was excluded from those exceptions

Casanova v. City of Brookshire

119 F. Supp. 2d 639 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Sep 7, 2000

A defendant “is entitled to qualified immunity unless he violated a constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of his conduct.” Blackwell, 34 F.3d at 302-03 ; see Harper v. … In considering a claim of qualified immunity, the court must make a two-step inquiry: First, the court must determine whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right.

Lytle Ex Rel. Estate of Lytle v. Bexar County

543 F. Supp. 2d 656 · District Court, W.D. Texas · Feb 14, 2008

Defense of Qualified Immunity Defendant O’Donnell asserts qualified immunity as a defense to Plaintiffs claim of excessive force. Saucier v. … The inquiry next turns to whether the rights allegedly violated were clearly established.

Christopher L. Gay and Steven L. Carroll v. the City of Wichita Falls, Texas

457 S.W.3d 499 · Texas Court of Appeals, 8th District (El Paso) · Aug 13, 2014

In 2005, the Legislature enacted Section 271.152 of the Local Government Code, which unambiguously waives immunity for certain contractual claims against qualifying governmental entities. … According to the officers, these cases establish that the City does not have immunity in the first instance such that there is no immunity to be waived.

Texas State Technical College v. Ralph Cressman, Paula Schnizer, Joe Magourik, Greg Mosby and Jimmy Daws

Texas Court of Appeals, 10th District (Waco) · Aug 3, 2005

Appellants contend in their second issue that they conclusively established their entitlement to judgment on the issue of official immunity. … The Fifth Circuit vacated this dismissal order holding that “[i]f a reasonable government agent would know that the audio and video recordings were clearly illegal, there could be no qualified immunity.” Cressman v.

Baker ex rel. Baker v. Putnal

865 F. Supp. 389 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Oct 14, 1994

Plaintiffs allege that the Decedent had a clearly established right to due process of law prior to the unwarranted taking of his life, and that Defendant Putnal violated this right and lost the qualified immunity defense … Scherer, 468 U.S. 183 , 104 S.Ct. 3012 , 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984), in which the Court reaffirmed the principle that officials lose their qualified immunity by violating clearly established federal statutory rights.

Pickett v. City of Perryton, Texas

District Court, N.D. Texas · Feb 4, 2020

and qualified immunity. … Villarreal’s Use of Deadly Force Did Not Violate Clearly Established Law Turning to the second prong of the qualified immunity test, however, the Court concludes that Villarreal’s use of deadly force did not violate clearly

Kinnard v. United Regional Health Care System

194 S.W.3d 54 · Court of Appeals of Texas · May 11, 2006

Kinnard has alleged valid claims for defamation and tortious business interference against appellees, 7 the claims are barred by qualified immunity. … To support their qualified immunity defense, appellees submitted affidavits from members of United Regional’s Board of Directors, the peer review committee, and the appellate review committee.

Lori Wash. ex rel. J.W. v. Katy Indep. Sch. Dist.

390 F. Supp. 3d 822 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Jun 5, 2019

The Record Evidence on Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity protects government officials "from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights … To the extent that the claim is brought against Officer Paley, he is entitled to qualified immunity. Officer Paley's actions did not violate a clearly established constitutional "right to an education." Ms.

City of Rio Vista v. Johnson County Special Utility District

Texas Court of Appeals, 15th District · Jan 28, 2025

The first question we consider in this appeal is whether the District met its burden in establishing a statutory waiver of the City’s immunity based on the 4 parties’ contract. … As a result, the notice and consent provision cannot qualify as a service sufficient to waive the City’s immunity under Chapter 271. C. UDJA.