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Bonham v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice3/6/2003
Kristy Bonham appeals the district court's grant of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's (the "Department") plea to the jurisdiction and the final judgment that dismissed her claims against the Department. At issue is whether Bonham's claims against the Department to recover damages related to injuries she sustained after being sexually assaulted at a state jail facility were within the Texas Tort Claims Act's (the "Act") waiver of sovereign immunity. Because we conclude that Bonham's claims were not within the Act's waiver of sovereign immunity, we will affirm the district court's judgment.
STANDARD AND SCOPE OF REVIEW
It is a fundamental rule of Texas jurisprudence that the State of Texas, its agencies, and its officers may not be sued without the consent of the legislature. Texas Natural Res. Conservation Comm'n v. IT-Davey, 74 S.W.3d 849, 853-54 (Tex. 2001); Hosner v. DeYoung, 1 Tex. 764, 769 (1847). Thus, the State of Texas is immune from suit unless the State consents to being sued. See Missouri Pac. R. Co. v. Brownsville Navigation Dist., 453 S.W.2d 812, 813 (Tex. 1970). In the absence of the State's consent to suit, a trial court lacks subject- matter jurisdiction. Texas Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex. 1999). The lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is properly raised by a plea to the jurisdiction. Id.
The plaintiff has the burden to allege facts affirmatively demonstrating that the trial court has subject-matter jurisdiction. Texas Ass'n of Bus. v. Texas Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 446 (Tex. 1993). In a suit against the State, the plaintiff must allege consent to suit either by reference to a statute or to express legislative permission. Jones, 8 S.W.3d at 638. Here, Bonham contends that her petition alleged claims against the Department within the Act's limited waiver of sovereign immunity. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ยง 101.021 (West 1997).
We review de novo the district court's ruling on a plea to the jurisdiction. See State Dep't of Highways & Pub. Transp. v. Gonzalez, 82 S.W.3d 322, 327 (Tex. 2001); Mayhew v. Town of Sunnyvale, 964 S.W.2d 922, 928 (Tex. 1998). Unless a defendant pleads and proves that allegations in a plaintiff's petition were fraudulently made, we take as true the facts pleaded in the petition to determine whether those facts support jurisdiction in the trial court. Texas Ass'n of Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 446. If necessary, we may review the entire record to determine if the trial court had jurisdiction. Bland ISD v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 554-55 (Tex. 2000). As the Department has not asserted any fraudulent pleading, we accept Bonham's factual allegations as true. If Bonham's petition fails to allege jurisdictional facts, then her claims are subject to dismissal if it is impossible to amend her pleadings to confer jurisdiction. Texas Ass'n of Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 446.
BACKGROUND
Bonham was incarcerated at the Ellen Halbert state jail facility (the "facility") in Burnet. Early one morning, after finishing her work detail of cleaning a men's restroom at the facility, a guard approached her, pushed her into the restroom, and forced her to have sexual intercourse. The guard instructed Bonham to say nothing about the incident. After she reported the assault to facility employees, rather than providing her medical care and investigating her report, Bonham alleged that facility personnel directed her to not report the assault to the police and then disciplined her for lying. One week later, Bonham was examined by a physician who reported that Bonham had been forced to have or had had forcible intercourse. Bonham alleged that facility officials tried to coerce the phys
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