HOUSTON – The First Court of Appeals today affirmed a ruling denying a plea to the jurisdiction made by Houston Community College.
Court records show The Hall Group, Dolcefino Consulting and Scott Laha submitted various public information requests to HCC. When HCC refused to release the requested information, the requesters called upon the courts.
HCC filed a plea to the jurisdiction, arguing that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over their claims because it is a governmental body and that the requesters failed to establish a waiver of governmental immunity under the Texas Public Information Act.
Court records show the trial court denied HCC’s plea to the jurisdiction and granted mandamus relief, ordering that HCC provide all public information responsive to appellees’ TPIA requests.
The First Court concluded that HCC did not establish as a matter of law that its failure to supply public information responsive to appellees’ requests did not constitute a “refusal” under the TPIA.
“Because we conclude that the trial court has jurisdiction over appellees’ TPIA claims, we hold that the trial court did not err in denying HCC’s plea to the jurisdiction,” the opinion states. “We affirm the trial court’s denial of HCC’s plea to the jurisdiction.”