City of El Paso v. Heinrich
| Decision Date | 20 July 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-05-00203-CV.,08-05-00203-CV. |
| Citation | 198 S.W.3d 400 |
| Parties | THE CITY OF EL PASO, The El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund, The Board of Trustees of the El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund, Mike D. Pritchard, Darrel G. Petry, John D. Davis, III, Michael V. Calderazzo, Richard Wiles, Diana M. Kirk, Roberto Rivera, Robert E. Feidner, Al Perez, Tyler C. Grossman, Joe Wardy, Robert A. Cushing, Jr., Robert D. Tollen, Robert J. Stanton, and Raul Tarango, Appellants, v. Lilli M. HEINRICH, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Eric G. Calhoun, Travis & Calhoun, P.C., Dallas, Michele Little Locke, Elizondo, Hayes & Locke P.C., El Paso, for appellants.
Stewart W. Forbes, Forbes & Forbes, El Paso, for appellee.
Before BARAJAS, C.J., McCLURE, and CHEW, JJ.
This is an accelerated appeal from a denial of a plea to the jurisdiction granted against Appellants, The City of El Paso, The El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund, The Board of Trustees of the El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund, Mike D. Pritchard, Darrel G. Petry, John D. Davis, III, Michael V. Calderazzo, Richard Wiles, Diana M. Kirk, Roberto Rivera, Robert E. Feidner, Al Perez, Tyler C. Grossman, Joe Wardy, Robert A. Cushing, Jr., Robert D. Tollen, Robert J. Stanton, and Raul Tarango. On appeal, Appellants raise two issues for appeal.1 In Issue One, Appellants contend that the trial court erred in denying the plea to the jurisdiction based on the court's lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. In Issue Two, Appellants contend that the trial court erred by failing to hold that the individual Appellants have official immunity. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Charles D. Heinrich was an El Paso Police Department officer from November 30, 1972 to August 29, 1985, when he passed away as a result of a job-related injury. He was survived by his wife, Appellee, Lilli M. Heinrich, and a then-minor son. The El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund commenced payment of Mr. Heinrich's pension benefits for Mrs. Heinrich and her son in October 1985. The payment amount included payment for August and September of 1985. According to Appellants, pursuant to Section 20 of the Bylaws governing the Pension Fund, Mrs. Heinrich received two-thirds of Mr. Heinrich's earned pension, and her son, who was a qualified child under this section, received one-third of Mr. Heinrich's earned pension. The total payment equaled to 100 percent of Mr. Heinrich's pension. At the time the Board made the decision, Mrs. Heinrich contends that the benefits did not account for her son's share.
On August 14, 2002, Mrs. Heinrich received a letter from the Pension Fund requesting that she confirm her son meet the definition of a qualified child under Section 4 of the System Bylaws. The letter included text from Section 4 that read in relevant part,
"Qualified Child or Children" means the surviving unmarried dependent child or children of a member who are (1) under the age of nineteen (19); or (2) if over the age of nineteen (19), and under age twenty three (23), then a full-time student at an accredited secondary university, technical or trade school approved by the Board or (3) regardless of age, deemed physically disabled and non-self supporting by the Board of Trustees or declared mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction for as long as such incompetence or disability exists. For purposes of this subsection "dependent" means a child who is less than fifty percent (50%) self-supporting. Notwithstanding these criteria, in no case shall "non-self-supporting" be construed to include persons over the age of nineteen (19) and disabled by excessive use of drugs or alcohol as determined by the Board of Trustees.
The letter further indicated that Mrs. Heinrich's son turned nineteen years old in January 1998 and twenty-three years old in January 2002. As is evidenced in a letter dated August 29, 2002 from Robert J. Stanton, the Pension Fund administrator at the time, to Mrs. Heinrich, they discussed the contents of the August 14 letter.
Thereafter, in its regular meeting held on September 18, 2002, the Pension Fund Board of Trustees voted to discontinue payment of benefits to Mrs. Heinrich's son. Mrs. Heinrich was informed of this decision in a letter dated October 29, 2002, which also informed her that the benefit payment amount would be adjusted to reflect the discontinuance of benefits for her son beginning with the October 2002 check. On November 6, 2002, Mrs. Heinrich informed Mr. Stanton in a letter that her son had never received funds from the Pension Fund. As she understood, the benefits she began receiving in November 1985 reflected 100 percent of Mr. Heinrich's pension benefits which she was solely entitled to receive, without any consideration of her son's entitlement.
On May 25, 2004, Mrs. Heinrich filed an Original Petition and Requests for Disclosure. She asserted that the Board of Trustees had breached the fiduciary duty owed to her, that the Board acted illegally, and that they had violated Article 6243b, Title 109 of the Texas Civil Statutes by reducing her pension benefits by 33 and 1/3 percent. Furthermore, Mrs. Heinrich asserted that she was entitled to reimbursement of the total pension benefits she would have received plus all cost of living allowances from the date of the illegal act to the date of trial. In response, Appellants filed an Original Plea to the Jurisdiction, Answer and Affirmative Defenses, followed by a First Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction, Answer and Affirmative Defenses. In their Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction, Appellants argued that the City of El Paso, the El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund and its Board of Trustees are entitled to governmental immunity from suit and that in each case, such immunity had not been waived. The named individuals were immune from liability as well.
Thereafter, the Appellants filed a Brief in Support of Defendants' First Amended Plea to the Jurisdiction, Answer and Affirmative Defenses on March 30, 2005. Appellee filed a First Amended Petition on April 19, 2005, followed by Reply to Defendants' Plea to the Jurisdiction and Response to Motion to Dismiss filed on April 21, 2005.
The trial court held a hearing on the plea to the jurisdiction on May 4, 2005. After the trial court heard the parties' arguments, Mrs. Heinrich's counsel stated the following:
[T]he prayer in the petition is very, very general. We are asking both for special and general relief. I'm not sure exactly how you would join someone from doing an illegal act that was done in the past. That's the problem I had, and if the Court—I would like to have an opportunity to make a trial amendment to amend those portions of the prayer to enjoin the defendants from illegally acting as they did in the past and the future, and enjoin them from not paying them the amounts that they were allegedly supposed to pay as opposed to asking for money damages.
In other words, I agree in principle from what is argued here, but disagree with the fact that they are not involved in committing an illegal act.
Thereafter, the trial court indicated to counsel that he had until Friday at noon to amend any pleadings. The next day, Mrs. Heinrich filed a Second Amended Petition. In it, Mrs. Heinrich stated the following:
Plaintiff is entitled to a declaratory judgment declaring the acts of the defendants as illegal unlawful unconstitutional and enjoining the defendants from performing those act [sic] alleged and restore the status quo from date of the illegal act. Plaintiff is not seeking damages but rather equitable relief to right a wrong done to her.
Furthermore, in the prayer, Mrs. Heinrich stated the following:
Plaintiff prays that the Defendants be cited to appear herein and that the court declare the acts of the defendants to be illegal, unlawful, unauthorized, ultra vires, and unconstitutional. That Plaintiff receive all equitable relief allowed by law, that defendants be enjoined from performing the illegal, unlawful, unauthorized, ultra vires, and unconstitutional acts as alleged. That Plaintiff have Judgment from Defendants within the jurisdiction of this court, with Pre-Judgment interest thereon if allowed by law, with Post-Judgment interest at the applicable rate of interest if allowed by law, for costs of court, reasonable attorney's fees, and for such other and further relief, general and special, in law and in equity, to which she is justly entitled.
The trial court denied Appellants' Plea to the Jurisdiction on May 6, 2005. This appeal follows.
In two related issues, Appellants contend that the trial court erred in denying their plea to the jurisdiction because the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction since the Appellants retain governmental immunity from Mrs. Heinrich's claims. Issue One specifically asserts that Appellants, as governmental entities, are immune from suit under the sovereign immunity doctrine, in particular because Mrs. Heinrich's claim is for money damages. In Issue Two, Appellants assert that the individuals named as defendants in this case also are immune to Mrs. Heinrich's claims pursuant to the doctrine of official immunity. The crux of Appellants' arguments center on whether Mrs. Heinrich's claim is one for money damages or injunctive relief. The issues on appeal of whether the Appellants are protected from suit under the doctrine of governmental immunity and official immunity turn on whether Mrs. Heinrich is seeking monetary damages or declaratory relief.
An appeal may be taken from an interlocutory order that grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction filed by "a governmental unit." TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(8) (Vernon Supp.2005). We review a trial court's disposition of a plea...
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