HOUSTON — An appellate court dismissed a lawsuit filed against Sugar Land for lack of jurisdiction.
"We reverse the trial court’s order denying the City’s plea to the jurisdiction and render judgment dismissing Gaytan’s suit against the City for lack of jurisdiction," the April 28 opinion states.
Justice Julie Countiss authored the opinion. Chief Justice Sherry Radack and Justice Richard Hightower concurred.
In the appeal, Sugar Land was challenging the trial court's order to deny a plea for jurisdiction in a lawsuit filed by Agapito Gaytan for negligence.
Gaytan filed the lawsuit on May 22, 2016, alleging that he was injured while participating in the Tejas Triathlon during the biking portion of the event.
Gaytan claimed he was approaching the intersection between New Territory Boulevard and Chatham Avenue when Daksha Shah, who was driving a vehicle on Chatham, was attempting to turn left onto New Territory when she paused for a moment in the traffic lane and caused Gaytan to strike her vehicle while on his bike.
Gaytan claimed Sugar Land police officers had signaled for Shah to proceed through the intersection to make her turn before he impacted the vehicle and suffered debilitating injuries. He claimed the city was negligent in directing traffic.
In the case, the city denied the allegations and filed a plea for jurisdiction, asserting that the trial court lacked jurisdiction and that it was entitled to governmental immunity. The trial court denied the city's plea for jurisdiction and the case was appealed.
Countiss wrote in the opinion that Shah's disregard for the instructions provided to her by the city's officers when she paused in the intersection was the cause of the collision, according to Gaytan himself.
"Gaytan does not allege that either of the City’s law enforcement officers, or any other governmental employee, drove the car with which he ultimately collided," Countiss wrote. "And Gaytan does not allege that the City’s law enforcement officers or any governmental vehicle were involved in the ultimate collision in which he was injured."
Countiss wrote that the court found that Gaytan did not allege facts that demonstrated the city's officers were at fault, that the trial court also lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the suit and that it made an error when it denied the city's plea to the jurisdiction.
Texas First District Court of Appeals case number: 01-18-01083-CV