Marcos Montoya, Et Ux, Paula Montoya, Ind., and as Next Friends of Marcos Montoya, Jr. v. H.I.S.D. and Veronica Dampha ( 2005 )

Opinion issued March 31, 2005  

    In The  

Court of Appeals  

For The  

First District of Texas  

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  NO. 01-04-00824-CV

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MARCOS MONTOYA ET UX, PAULA MONTOYA, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT FRIENDS OF MARCOS MONTOYA, JR., Appellants  

V.

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND VERONICA DAMPHA, Appellees

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On Appeal from the 333rd District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 2004-24564  

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O P I N I O N  

          In this accelerated, interlocutory appeal, appellants, Marcos Montoya et ux, Paula Montoya, Individually and as Next Friends of Marcos Montoya, Jr. (the “Montoyas”), challenge the trial court’s order granting a plea to the jurisdiction in favor of appellee, Houston Independent School District (HISD), on the Montoyas’ claims against HISD for injuries sustained by Marcos Montoya, Jr. (“Marcos”) when he fell from the emergency exit of an HISD school bus. In four issues, the Montoyas contend that the trial court erred in granting HISD’s plea to the jurisdiction on the grounds of governmental immunity from suit because the Texas Tort Claims Act waives such immunity from suit for personal injuries arising “from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle.” We affirm the trial court’s order.            

Factual and Procedural Background  

          As stated in the Montoyas’ first amended petition, on May 15, 2002, Marcos sustained personal injuries when he fell from the emergency exit of a moving school bus owned by HISD and driven by an HISD employee. At the time of the incident, Marcos was eight years old and enrolled in special education in HISD. He had previously been diagnosed with mental retardation and other mental handicaps. Prior to the incident, Marcos had a history of aggressive behavior on the school bus, including a history of leaving his seat on the bus, running around on the bus, and attempting to exit the bus using the emergency exit.

          On April 4, 2002, HISD equipped Marcos’s school bus seat with a special child-proof harness to restrain him. However, the harness did not effectively restrain Marcos, and, on May 5, 2002, Marcos was able to free himself from the harness. On May 14, 2002, the day before the incident, Marcos freed himself from the harness and opened the rear emergency exit door of the bus, but did not fall out of the bus. The next day, on May 15, 2002, Marcos again freed himself from the harness and, while the bus was in motion, opened and fell through the emergency exit, sustaining the personal injuries giving rise to this lawsuit.  

          The Montoyas sued HISD and the HISD bus driver (collectively “HISD”), alleging that HISD was negligent in the operation or use of Marcos’s school bus. In their first amended petition, the Montoyas alleged that HISD was negligent in the following ways:

          a.       failing to properly use the child-proof harness restraining Marcos;

          b.       failing to maintain a reasonable lookout, and notice that Marcos had disengaged the harness;

          c.       failing to stop the bus before Marcos reached the emergency exit, opened it, and fell through it;

          d.       failing to equip the bus with an adequate restraining device; and

          e.       failing to instruct the bus driver in the proper use of the harness.

          HISD filed an answer pleading as a defense “all the exemptions and exceptions from, and limitations on, liability provided in the Texas Tort Claims Act.” Contemporaneously with filing its answer, HISD filed a motion to dismiss and plea to jurisdiction, asserting that HISD was entitled to governmental immunity and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the Montoyas’ claim. HISD further asserted that Marcos’s injuries did not arise from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle, and thus the Montoyas’ allegations did not trigger a waiver of HISD’s immunity under the Texas Tort Claims Act.

          The Montoyas filed a response to HISD’s plea to jurisdiction, arguing that their allegations arose from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle and thus HISD’s immunity was waived. After HISD filed a reply to the Montoyas’ response, the trial court conducted a hearing on HISD’s plea to the jurisdiction, and entered an order granting HISD’s plea.  

Standard of Review  

          Governmental immunity from suit defeats a trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Tex. Dept. of Parks and Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 225 (Tex. 2004); Dallas Area Rapid Transit v. Whitley, 104 S.W.3d 540, 542 (Tex. 2003). Whether a party has alleged facts that affirmatively demonstrate a trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law reviewed de novo. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d at 226.

          “In a suit against a governmental unit, the plaintiff must affirmatively demonstrate the court’s jurisdiction by alleging a valid waiver of immunity.” Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 542. In reviewing the pleadings to determine whether a party has alleged facts that affirmatively demonstrate the court’s jurisdiction and a valid waiver of immunity, the reviewing court must construe the pleadings liberally in favor of the pleading party and must also look to the intent of the pleading party.                                                                               Miranda, 133 S.W.3d at 226.   

Waiver of Governmental Immunity

          In issues one through four, the Montoyas argue that the trial court erred in granting HISD’s plea to the jurisdiction because their allegations that HISD was negligent in failing to timely stop the bus, maintain a reasonable lookout, and properly use a child-proof harness state a claim for personal injuries arising from HISD’s operation or use of the bus, and the Texas Tort Claims Act specifically waives governmental immunity from suit for such claims. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021(1) (Vernon 1997).

          HISD, a governmental unit, is immune from liability for Marcos’s injuries unless that immunity has been waived by the Texas Tort Claims Act. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 101.001, 101.021, 101.025, 101.051 (Vernon 1997 & Supp. 2004-2005); Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 542; LeLeaux v. Hamshire-Fannett Sch. Dist., 835 S.W.2d 49, 51 (Tex. 1992). The Texas Tort Claims Act provides, in relevant part:

          A governmental unit in the state is liable for:

(1)     property damage, personal injury, and death proximately caused by the wrongful act or omission or the negligence of an employee acting within his scope of employment if:

          (A)    the property damage, personal injury, or death arises from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment; and

                    (B)    the employee would be personally liable to the claimant according to Texas law.

 Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021(1)             (Emphasis added).

          The waiver of immunity set forth in section 101.021(1) has been construed by Texas courts to be a limited waiver. LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 51. Thus, pursuant to this limited waiver, a school district is liable for a personal injury proximately caused by a negligent employee only if the injury arises from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021(1)(A). While the terms “use” and “operation” are not defined in the Act, the supreme court has defined “use” as “to put or bring into action or service; to employ for or apply to a given purpose” and has defined operation as “a doing or performing of a practical work.” Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 542; LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 51. The supreme court has also explained that the “arises from” language in section 101.021(1)(A) requires “                              a nexus between the injury negligently caused by a governmental employee and the operation or use of the motor-driven vehicle or piece of equipment.” LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 51; see also Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 543          ;       Hopkins v. Spring Indep. Sch. Dist.      , 736 S.W.2d 617, 619 (Tex. 1987)    . “This nexus requires more than mere involvement of property.” Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 543.           Rather, the use of the vehicle “must have actually caused the injury.” Id.        The operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle “does not cause injury if it does no more than furnish the condition that makes the injury possible.” Id. (citing       Dallas County Mental Health and Mental Retardation v. Bossley      , 968 S.W.2d 339, 343 (Tex. 1998    ). Additionally, while the statute does not expressly state whose operation or use of the vehicle or equipment is necessary, the supreme court has noted that “the more plausible reading is that the required operation or use is that of the [governmental] employee.” LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 51.

          The Montoyas make three specific allegations as to how Marcos’s injuries arose from HISD’s negligent operation or use of the school bus. First, the Montoyas allege that the HISD bus driver was negligent in failing to timely stop the bus before Marcos opened the rear emergency door and fell from the moving bus. Second, the Montoyas allege that the HISD bus driver was negligent in failing to maintain a reasonable lookout while driving the bus. Third, the Montoyas allege that the HISD bus driver was negligent in failing to properly use a child-proof harness and restrain Marcos. In reviewing the order of the trial court granting HISD’s plea to jurisdiction, we must take these allegations as true. LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 52.

          However, even assuming the truth of these allegations, the Montoyas have still failed to demonstrate that           Marcos’s injuries actually arose from the bus driver’s operation or use of the bus. LeLeaux, 835 S.W.2d at 51. As to the Montoyas’ first allegation, we cannot agree with the Montoyas’ assertion that the bus driver’s negligent failure to timely stop the school bus “is the very quintessence of an allegation which arises from the use or operation of a motor vehicle.” While it is generally true that a driver’s negligent failure to timely stop a vehicle to avoid a collision would relate to the operation of that vehicle, here the Montoyas’ allegation concerns the bus driver’s failure to stop the bus to prevent Marcos from opening the rear door and falling out of the bus. This allegation actually relates to the bus driver’s duty to supervise and respond to Marcos’s behavior on the bus, not the driver’s operation or use of the bus itself. Furthermore, the Montoyas’ argument, that Marcos’s injuries would not have occurred if the bus had stopped prior to Marcos’s exiting the emergency door, does not demonstrate that Marcos’s injuries arose from the operation of the bus. For example, Marcos’s injuries would not have occurred if he had not boarded the bus altogether. But an allegation to this effect would not be sufficient to demonstrate that Marcos’s injuries arose from the operation of the bus. In order to establish the required nexus, the Montoyas must allege that the bus driver’s operation of the bus actually caused Marcos’s injuries. See Estate of Garza v. McAllen Indep. Sch. Dist., 613 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Tex. Civ. App.—Beaumont 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.). Here, the Montoyas’ allegation concerning the driver’s failure to stop the bus, even when construed liberally, is not sufficient to establish a waiver of HISD’s immunity.

          The Montoyas’ second allegation, that the bus driver negligently failed to maintain a reasonable lookout, also relates to the bus driver’s duty to supervise the bus passengers and does not concern the actual operation or use of the bus. Goston v. Hutchison, 853 S.W.2d 729, 733 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, no writ). In Goston, we concurred with the distinction made by the court in Estate of Garza that “when the allegations of negligence are related to the direction, control and supervision of the students, the suit is barred [and] when the allegations of negligence are related to the negligent use of the motor vehicle itself, the suit is not barred.” Id. at 733 (citing Estate of Garza, 613 S.W.2d at 528). We conclude that the Montoyas’ allegation concerning the driver’s failure to maintain a reasonable lookout falls squarely into the category of cases related to the direction, control, and supervision of students. Moreover, the Montoyas’ allegation regarding the bus driver’s failure to keep a reasonable lookout fails to demonstrate the required nexus between the driver’s negligent act and the injuries sustained by Marcos. Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 543; Hopkins, 736 S.W.2d at 619.

          Similarly, the Montoyas’ third allegation, that the bus driver negligently failed to use the harness properly, does not relate to the driver’s operation or use of the bus. However, even assuming that the driver’s negligent use of the harness constituted an operation or use of the bus, the negligent use was not the actual cause of Marcos’s injuries.                          The actual cause of Marcos’s injuries was Marcos’s affirmative act of opening and exiting the rear emergency door of the bus. At most, the driver’s negligent use furnished the condition which enabled Marcos to exit the bus and injure himself. See Whitley, 104 S.W.3d at 543. Because this allegation does not demonstrate the critical nexus between the driver’s negligent use of the harness and Marcos’s fall from the bus, it is insufficient to support a waiver of HISD’s immunity.

          In the trial court proceedings and in their appellate briefing the Montoyas rely heavily on Austin Ind. Sch. Dist. v. Gutierrez, 54 S.W.3d 860 (Tex. App.—Austin 2001, pet. denied), and Hitchcock v. Garvin, 738 S.W.2d 34 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1987, no writ), both of which are distinguishable from the facts at hand. In Gutierrez, a school bus driver discharged a student from the bus and then honked the horn of the bus to indicate to the student that she could safely cross the road. Gutierrez, 54 S.W.3d at 861. After the bus driver’s signal, the student attempted to cross the street and was struck and killed by a passing vehicle. Id. The court denied the school district’s plea to the jurisdiction because the bus driver’s “affirmative action of honking the horn,” which may have contributed to the accident, constituted a use of the bus. Id. at 866. Similarly, in Hitchcock, a school bus driver failed to activate the bus flashers or warning signals prior to unloading a child. Hitchcock, 738 S.W.2d at 36. Immediately after exiting the bus, the child attempted to cross the street but was struck by another car. Id. at 37. The court held that the driver’s failure to activate the flashers or warning signals of the school bus when the child was exiting constituted “an act or omission arising from the operation or use of a motor vehicle.” Id.

          Here, however, the Montoyas’ allegations do not demonstrate that Marcos’s injuries actually resulted from the bus driver’s operation or use of the bus. Rather, the allegations demonstrate that Marcos’s injuries were caused by Marcos’s affirmative actions of opening the school bus emergency door and exiting the bus while it was in motion. Furthermore, even if the bus driver’s failure to adequately supervise the students on the bus contributed to the accident, her actual operation and use of the bus did not cause the injuries. See Goston, 853 S.W.2d at 733. 

          The Montoyas’ allegations are more comparable to the allegations made in Hopkins, 736 S.W.2d at 618 and     Estate of Garza    , 613 S.W.2d at 527.     In Hopkins, a student with cerebral palsy suffered severe convulsions while riding on her school bus to her after-school day care center. Hopkins, 736 S.W.2d at 618. The bus driver contacted his supervisor and requested that a school nurse meet the bus. Id. Instead of providing the nurse, the supervisor instructed the driver to proceed with the student to the day care center, where she finally received medical care. Id. The student’s family brought suit against the school district, alleging that the district’s failure to provide adequate medical care caused the student’s personal injuries. Id. The court refused to find a waiver of the school district’s immunity, noting that the student’s injuries “could not have arisen from the use or operation of a motor vehicle as contemplated by the statute.” Id. (emphasis added).

          In Garza, a non-student passenger boarded a school bus and stabbed a student who was riding the bus to school. Garza, 613 S.W.2d at 527. The plaintiffs alleged that the school district “failed to provide safe transportation for and effective control of the students riding on the school bus.” Id. The Garza court held that “the injury arose out of the failure to control and supervise the public, and not from the operation or use of a motor vehicle. . . . [A] knife and not the use of the bus was the cause of plaintiff’s damage.”       Id.   at 528;     see also Martinez v. VIA Metrop. Transit Auth., 38 S.W.3d 173, 176 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2000, no pet.) (concluding that transit authority did not waive immunity to claims brought by metro van passenger after metro van driver failed to transport passenger timely and properly to nearest medical facility when he became sick and passed out)  .

          As in Hopkins and Garza, here, the Montoyas’ pleadings demonstrate that the bus driver’s failure to supervise or control Marcos may have contributed to Marcos’s injuries. However, the pleadings do not demonstrate that the bus driver’s operation or use of the bus actually caused Marcos’s injuries. Instead of demonstrating the required nexus between Marcos’s injuries and the driver’s operation or use of the bus, the Montoyas’ pleadings establish only that Marcos’s injuries were the result of Marcos’s affirmative actions and possibly the bus driver’s failure to supervise, control, or direct Marcos.

          Because the Montoyas’ allegations demonstrate that the HISD school bus merely provided the setting for Marcos’s injuries and that the bus driver’s operation or use of the bus did not proximately cause Marcos’s injuries, we hold that the Montoyas’ claims do not fall within the waiver of immunity set forth in section 101.021(1). Hopkins, 736 S.W.2d at 619. Accordingly, we further hold that the trial court did not err in granting HISD’s plea to the jurisdiction.

          We overrule issues one through four.                           

Conclusion

          We affirm the order of the trial court granting HISD’s plea to the jurisdiction.  

                                                                        Terry Jennings

                                                                        Justice  

Panel consists of Justices Nuchia, Jennings and Alcala.

Justice Alcala dissenting.