City of Dallas v. Martin

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court addressed governmental immunity in a class action brought by Dallas firefighters and police officers alleging breach of employment contracts based on a 1979 city ordinance. The court held that the ordinance’s adoption by referendum did not waive the City’s immunity, that immunity barred the declaratory-judgment claim, and that the City’s dismissal of its counterclaim did not reinstate immunity as to pending claims. The court reversed the court of appeals and remanded for consideration of whether subsequent legislation waived the City’s immunity.

Holdings

1. The ordinance's adoption by referendum did not result in the City of Dallas losing its immunity from suit.
2. The City retained immunity from suit as to the officers' declaratory-judgment action.
3. By nonsuiting its counterclaim, the City did not reinstate immunity from suit as to the officers' claims that were pending when the counterclaim was nonsuited.
4. The case must be remanded for the trial court to consider whether the Legislature waived the City's immunity by amending the Local Government Code.
5. The officers' pleadings did not support the contention that the suit involved the validity of the pay resolutions; consequently, section 37.006(b) did not provide a basis for concluding that immunity was waived.

Questions Presented

1. Whether adoption of the 1979 pay ordinance by referendum waived or eliminated the City's governmental immunity from suit.
2. Whether governmental immunity barred the officers' declaratory-judgment claim.
3. Whether the City's nonsuit of its counterclaim reinstated immunity as to the officers' claims that were pending when the counterclaim was nonsuited.
4. Whether the case should be remanded for the trial court to determine whether Texas Local Government Code section 271.152 waived the City's immunity.
5. Whether the officers' pleadings implicitly placed the validity of municipal pay resolutions at issue so as to waive immunity under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 37.006(b).

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded