HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals recently reversed a ruling granting Harris County immunity in a lawsuit brought over an automobile collision with a deputy.
Jose and Margarita Romero brought the suit in 2018. In their petition, the couple alleges the county’s deputy, Candace Miles, was driving one of the county’s law enforcement vehicles and caused the crash while acting in the course and scope of her employment.
Court records show the county answered and promptly sought dismissal of the lawsuit by filing a plea to the jurisdiction, stating Miles was responding to a priority one family disturbance, assessed her best route, and looked both ways before making a U-turn in the moments leading up to the collision.
The court granted the plea and then subsequently denied the Romeros’ motion for a new trial, prompting the appeal.
On Nov. 9, the 14th Court reversed the trial court and remanded the case for further proceedings.
“The Romeros adequately pled jurisdictional facts sufficient to confer jurisdiction on the trial court,” the opinion states. “The County’s plea to the jurisdiction contained no evidence to support its affirmative defense and therefore did not operate to shift the burden back to the Romeros to provide evidence negating Miles’ potential official immunity affirmative defense.”
Appeals case No. 14-19-00904-CV