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Greenwell v. Davis11/22/2005
2001, no pet.).
II. Doctrine of Comity
Because the various states of our nation are, in many respects, entirely separate legal sovereignties, no state "can demand that its laws have effect beyond the limits of its sovereignty." Gannon v. Payne, 706 S.W.2d 304, 306 (Tex. 1986). However, under the doctrine of comity, Texas will recognize the laws of other states with the expectation that those states will extend Texas the same consideration. K.D.F. v. Rex, 878 S.W.2d 589, 593--94 (Tex. 1994). "Comity is a principle under which the courts of one state give effect to the laws of another state or extend immunity to a sister sovereign, not as a rule of law, but rather out of deference or respect." N.M. v. Caudle, 108 S.W.3d 319, 321 (Tex. App.---Tyler 2002, pet. denied).
III. This Court has Jurisdiction over this Interlocutory Appeal
In its first issue, Greenwell and the City argue they have standing to seek an interlocutory appeal from the trial court's denial of their joint motion for partial summary judgment based on Arkansas sovereign immunity. This issue, though, is really whether this appeal concerns an appealable order rather than standing. The City and Greenwell argue that Section 51.014 authorizes an interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order.
Generally, only final judgments of trial courts are appealable. Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001); Hinde v. Hinde, 701 S.W.2d 637, 639 (Tex. 1985); N. E. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Aldridge, 400 S.W.2d 893, 895 (Tex. 1966); see Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.012 (Vernon 1997). The Legislature has, however, authorized the appeal of a number of interlocutory orders. See, e.g., Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014 (Vernon Supp. 2005). Section 51.014 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code provides as follows, in pertinent part:
(a) A person may appeal from an interlocutory order of a district court, county court at law, or county court that:
(5) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based on an assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state; . . . .
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014. The City and Greenwell argue that Section 51.014(a)(5) is not limited to Texas officers or employees.
If the statutory text is unambiguous, a court must adopt the interpretation supported by the statute's plain language unless that interpretation would lead to absurd results. Tex. Dep't of Protective & Regulatory Servs. v. Mega Child Care, Inc., 145 S.W.3d 170, 177 (Tex. 2004). The term "state" is not defined by Section 51 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. However, the Code Construction Act defines "State" as "any state, district, commonwealth, territory, and insular possession of the United States and any area subject to the legislative authority of the United States of America." See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 311.005 (Vernon 2005). Further, we do not believe the word "the" changes the meaning of "state" in Section 51.014. Although "the" is singular, it does not necessarily limit the phrase "the state" to Texas. Therefore, we conclude the phrase "the state" includes Arkansas and an interlocutory appeal may be taken from the denial of Greenwell's motion.
Davis cites City of Irving v. Pak, 885 S.W.2d 189 (Tex. App.---Dallas 1994, writ dism'd w.o.j.), for the proposition that, if Section 51.014 applies to Arkansas police officers, the City is precluded from bringing an interlocutory appeal because its motion was not based on Greenwell's official immunity. Davis argues that the City's appeal is based on the trial c
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