Houston Partners Successfully Secure Appellate Result in Premises Liability Case

No Waiver of Immunity

This premises liability case arose from workplace injuries allegedly sustained by Plaintiff while removing vertically-stored pipes during a renovations project from the backstage area at Jesse H. Jones Hall for Performing Arts in June 2022. Plaintiff was stagehand working for Houston Production Services (also known as I.A.T.S.E. Local Union 51) when pipes fell, injuring him. At the time of the at-issue incident, the Foundation for Jones Hall was responsible for backstage operations and maintenance at Jones Hall; not Houston First Corporation.

Plaintiff failed to plead a waiver of immunity as to Houston First Corporation. In addition, Plaintiff conceded he failed to provide formal written notice of his claim within six months of the incident to Houston First Corporation, as required by Section 101.101(a) of the Texas Tort Claims Act. Accordingly, Plaintiff is required to prove Houston First Corporation had actual notice.

Texas Tort Claims Act

The Appellate Court determined that Plaintiff did not provide timely written notice of his claims to Houston First Corporation and did not establish that Houston First Corporation had actual knowledge of Plaintiff’s claims, and, as a result, held that Houston First Corporation’s immunity from suit was not waived. The trial court’s denial of Houston First Corporation’s Plea to the Jurisdiction was reversed and judgment rendered in favor of Houston First Corporation—dismissing all of Plaintiff’s claims against this defendant for lack of jurisdiction.