City of Denton v. Brian Rushing, Calvin Patterson and Kevin Marshall

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that a city's policies and procedures manual, including an on-call compensation policy, did not create a unilateral contract waiving governmental immunity under Local Government Code § 271.152. The manual contained a broad disclaimer stating that its contents "do not in any way constitute the terms of a contract of employment," which negated any contractual intent. Distinguishing *City of Houston v. Williams* (where a city ordinance created a contract), the court ruled that employee handbooks with express disclaimers cannot form enforceable contracts for purposes of immunity waiver. The city's plea to the jurisdiction should have been granted because no valid written contract existed.

Holdings

1. Policy 106.06 does not create a unilateral contract because the Manual's disclaimer expressly negates any contractual intent. Therefore, the statutory waiver of immunity under section 271.152 does not apply.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Policy 106.06 of the City of Denton's Policies and Procedures Manual constitutes a unilateral contract subject to the statutory waiver of governmental immunity under Local Government Code section 271.152.
2. Whether the Manual's general disclaimer negates any contractual intent.
3. Whether the 2013 revisions to Policy 106.06 were properly executed by the City Council, affecting the waiver of immunity.

Disposition

reversed