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Doctor v. Pardue9/15/2005
nce thought to the legal consequences of its actions. Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 145 cmt. i. Wisconsin does not provide charitable immunity, yet EAA elects to maintain its only offices in Wisconsin and to conduct its annual convention and air show in Wisconsin. Here, if we were to conclude that the domicile of the injured party or the forum of the suit were the controlling factors in determining what law to apply on the issue of charitable immunity, this conclusion would lead to unpredictable and non-uniform results. If we were to accept EAA's argument, by the same logic, a non-resident of Texas, injured in Texas by acts or omissions of a charity, incorporated in Texas and performing services in Texas, would undoubtedly pursue his claims against the charity in a non-Texas forum and argue against application of the Act. Such a result would be contrary to the clear purposes of the Act, which is to limit charities' liability arising out of services performed in Texas, regardless of the forum of the suit or the residence of the injured party.
In considering the "ease in the determination and application of the law to be applied," we recognize that Texas is the forum state and that the parties acquiesced to the trial court's application of Texas law to the liability issues. See Torrington Co., 46 S.W.3d at 850. We also note that the Doctors and Pardue are residents of Texas. However, after considering the choice of law principles in section 6 and the factors in section 145, we hold that Wisconsin is the State with the most significant relationship to the issue of charitable immunity and that Texas does not have an overriding interest in seeing the Act applied to this case.
In support of its argument for application of Texas law, EAA asserts that (1) EAA has been held to be subject to the general jurisdiction of Texas courts, (2) Wisconsin interests would be served by applying Texas law, and (3) the Act applies to foreign charities doing business in Texas. First, our sister court's finding that "Texas has a greater, or at least equal, interest with that of all other states in adjudicating this claim," was made in the context of a general jurisdiction analysis, which is completely distinct from the choice of law analysis undertaken by this Court. See Experimental Aircraft Ass'n, Inc., 76 S.W.3d at 509. The fact that EAA has been held subject to general jurisdiction in Texas does not support EAA's argument that it should be entitled to the benefits and protections of the Act for liability arising out of conduct unrelated to its Texas contacts.
Second, EAA's argument that application of Texas law would serve the "interest of Wisconsin by reducing the damages awarded against its resident charitable organization" is without merit. Wisconsin has made a policy decision to eliminate charitable immunity, and has specifically elected not to offer protections to its charitable organizations similar to those available in Texas. Texas courts have no authority to change Wisconsin public policy.
Third, the Act does not purport to encompass all charities incorporated in other states that do some business in Texas. Instead, the Act plainly states that it is intended to encourage the performance of charitable services within Texas. It does not indicate that simply because a charity has been found to maintain continuous and systematic contacts with Texas, it should be entitled to protections under Texas law for conduct and injuries occurring outside of Texas. Although a charitable organization that is incorporated in another state but performs services in Texas for the benefit of Texas residents may have a legitimate claim to the protections afforded under the Act, EAA is seeking
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