HOUSTON – The city of Houston will have to continue to litigate a lawsuit alleging a HPD officer rear-ended another vehicle while looking for a cellphone charger.
On Nov. 24, the First Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment win for the city, remanding the lawsuit brought by Nikolette Ledesma and Elsa Estrada for further proceedings.
Case background
Court records show that on Dec. 19, 2015, HPD Officer Miranda Suarez allegedly rear-ended the plaintiffs’ vehicle while looking for her cellphone charger. She was wearing an HPD uniform and driving an HPD vehicle at the time.
Ledesma and Estrada sued under the Texas Tort Claims Act. Section 101.021 of the TTCA waives governmental immunity if injury is caused by negligence arising from the operation of a motor vehicle.
The city responded with a motion to dismiss. The city then later filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting Suarez was not acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the collision.
A trial court granted the city summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiffs claims for lack of jurisdiction.
On appeal, justices found that by first filing the motion to dismiss the city judicially admitted that Suarez was acting within the scope of her employment and agreed to defendant her.
The First Court found the trial court erred by granting the city summary judgment, reversing the ruling and remanding the case for further proceedings.
Case No. 01-19-00034-CV