Marci Hocevear prevailed in her appeal concerning her sexual assault case against Molecular Health, Inc. after a lower court granted the company’s plea to jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont reversed the ruling from the 284th District Court in Montgomery, Texas on Oct. 31. Hocevar sued under the Texas Commission for Human Rights Act (TCHRA), and later added claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA). Molecular Health responded with a plea to the jurisdiction, stating the lower court didn’t have subject matter jurisdiction as the TCHRA didn’t apply to employment that wasn’t in Texas, pointing out that Hocevar worked in Minnesota. The trial court granted the motion, leading to Hocevear’s appeal.
“We conclude that the TCHRA’s limitation on employment in Texas as stated in Texas Labor Code section 21.111 is not jurisdictional,” the judges determined. “While Hocevar raises arguments that her MHRA claims relate back to her first-filed petition and that the trial court erred in failing to conduct a choice of law analysis, we do not weigh them as they go to the merits of her claims.”
When it comes to her discriminatory and retaliatory claims, the judges ruled that Hocevar properly pleaded to show subject matter jurisdiction for the lower court. All issues concerning the location of her employment are marked toward the merits of her claim, and the judges limited their review to the lower court’s subject matter jurisdiction.
At the time of the incident in question, Hocevar worked as an independent contractor from a home office in Minnesota. She never marketed or sold products for Molecular Healt in Texas. But her supervisor was Bruce Mrachek, the Central Regional Vice President of Sales for Molecular Health, who lived and worked in San Antonio, Texas. Hocevar also said she was trained in Texas and went to company meetings at its headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas.
She said she was sexually harassed while interviewing with the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for the U.S. for an Account Director position. She told Mrachek about the alleged misconduct, and Molecular Health decided not to offer her the position, and also opted out of renewing her contract.
Justice Charles Kreger wrote the opinion as Justices Hollis Horton and Leanne Johnson concurred.