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Perez v. City of Dallas12/13/2005
Before Justices Whittington, Francis, and Lang
Martin Perez sued the City of Dallas under a theory of premises liability for injuries he sustained when he fell from the bed of his truck into an open pit at a trash transfer station owned and operated by the City. The trial court granted the City of Dallas's plea to the jurisdiction where it claimed sovereign immunity and dismissed Perez's claim against the City. In four points on appeal, Perez contends the trial court erred in granting the City's plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that the City's sovereign immunity was waived because the City's trash disposal pit was an unreasonably dangerous condition, i.e., it constituted a premises defect. We decide Perez's points against him and affirm.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On November 9, 2002, Perez drove his truck to the Northwest (Bachman) Transfer Station to dispose of his personal trash. The Bachman Transfer Station, which is owned and operated by the City of Dallas, is an enclosed location for disposing of trash. Upon demonstrating to a City employee that he was a resident of Dallas, Perez was directed by the City employee where to park in order to deposit his trash. He backed his truck up to the edge of the concrete pit where trash is deposited, climbed into the bed of the truck, and began unloading his trash. While unloading his truck, Perez fell from the bed of his truck into the concrete pit. He fractured his wrist and suffered a comminuted fracture to his right ankle.
Perez brought this suit against the City claiming in his original and amended petitions that the cause of his injuries was a premises defect at the transfer station. He asserts that his pleadings and evidence submitted in response to the City's plea to the jurisdiction reflect a waiver of sovereign immunity by the City based on the alleged premises defect and that he has met his burden to create at least a fact question as to the trial court's jurisdiction. In particular, he asserts in his petitions that the alleged premises defect is a "drop-off" of seven to eight feet at the open trash pit, which was not protected by a guardrail, which he states Dallas Building Code section 1716 required, coupled with directions for use of the pit given to him by the City's employee, in accordance with City policy.
The City filed a plea to the jurisdiction, claiming sovereign immunity. The City challenged the existence of jurisdictional facts, contending that Perez had not pled a premises defect, or in the alternative, that the City's facility, its design, and any limitations on its use fall within the discretionary function exception to waiver of immunity pursuant to section 101.056 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Evidence was submitted by both parties to support their respective positions. Perez appealed after the trial court granted the City's plea.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
A plea to jurisdiction contests a trial court's subject matter jurisdiction. Tex. Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex. 1999); Benefit Realty Corp. v. City of Carrollton, 141 S.W.3d 346, 348 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2004, pet. denied). The purpose of the plea "is not to force the plaintiffs to preview their case on the merits, but to establish a reason why the merits of the plaintiffs' claims should never be reached." Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 554 (Tex. 2000). Whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is a matter of law. Tex. Dep't of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 226 (Tex. 2004); Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm'n v. IT-Davy, 74 S.W.3d 849, 855 (Tex. 2002); Dallas County v. Wadley, 168 S.W.3d 373, 376 (Tex. App.
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