Robinson v. Alief Independent School Dist.

• Decision Date: 25 August 2009
• Docket Number: No. 14-08-00949-CV.,14-08-00949-CV.
• Citation: 298 S.W.3d 321
• Parties: Adrian ROBINSON, Appellant, v. ALIEF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT and Louis Stoerner, in his Official Capacity only, Appellees.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

298 S.W.3d 321

Adrian ROBINSON, Appellant, v. ALIEF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT and Louis Stoerner, in his Official Capacity only, Appellees.

No. 14-08-00949-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (14th Dist.).

August 25, 2009.

Larry Watts, Missouri City, TX, for appellant.

Jon Erik Nichols, Jonathan Griffin Brush, Paul Andrew Lamp, Houston, for appellees.

Panel consists of Chief Justice HEDGES, and Justices YATES and FROST.

MAJORITY OPINION

ADELE HEDGES, Chief Justice.

Appellant, Adrian Robinson, brings this accelerated appeal challenging the trial court's order granting the plea to the jurisdiction filed by appellees, Alief Independent School District ("AISD") and Louis Stoerner. In his sole issue, Robinson contends that the trial court erroneously granted the plea to the jurisdiction because his claims against AISD and Stoerner were not moot. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Robinson was employed by AISD as a teacher during the 2004-2005 school year. Robinson contends that in the fall of 2004, he had a brief romantic relationship with a fellow employee, Lenetta Freeman. He claims that after he ended the relationship, Freeman and Dwight Brannon, an employee in AISD's human resources department, began a campaign against Robinson to tarnish his reputation as an educator. Robinson contends that Brannon placed him on administrative leave in February 2005 for making "inappropriate comments regarding a coworker" without divulging the substance of the alleged inappropriate statements. Moreover, Robinson claims that while he was on leave, an email was sent to AISD employees indicating that Robinson suffered from AIDS and was attempting to maliciously spread the disease. Robinson claims that in August 2005, he was forced to resign due to a stress-related medical disorder. Freeman resigned from AISD in 2006, and Brannon resigned in 2007.

In February 2007, appellant filed the underlying lawsuit against AISD, AISD's superintendent, Stoerner, in his official capacity, Freeman, and Brannon. Against AISD and Stoerner, Robinson alleged equal rights, freedom of speech, and due process violations under Article I, Sections 3, 8, and 19 of the Texas Constitution. Against Freeman and Brannon, Robinson claimed that they "conspired to and each intentionally inflicted him with emotional distress, interfered with his business relationship, and invaded his constitutional right to privacy." Robinson sought declaratory and injunctive relief, requesting that the trial court: (1) "declare that [AISD] violated [his] constitutional rights"; (2) "[e]njoin [AISD] through its Superintendent of Schools to expunge his records of all references to Brannon's acts ... against him"; and (3) "order that Brannon, Freeman and all other employees of [AISD] cease violating or infringing upon [his] protected rights and liberties."

AISD and Stoerner answered the lawsuit and subsequently filed a plea to the jurisdiction contending that Robinson's claims against them were moot. AISD and Stoerner first argued that Robinson's request for injunctive relief regarding expungement of his employee file was moot because AISD, sua sponte, had agreed to expunge the specific portions of Robinson's personnel file that he requested to be removed. After Robinson filed his lawsuit, AISD voluntarily agreed to expunge all references to Brannon's acts against Robinson from the employee file as requested in Robinson's original petition and forwarded a letter to Robinson notifying him of its decision to expunge those records. Accordingly, AISD and Stoerner argued in their plea to the jurisdiction that the voluntary decision to expunge all references to Brannon's acts against Robinson from the personnel records mooted Robinson's request that the trial court order AISD, through Stoerner, to expunge the same.

AISD and Stoerner further argued that Robinson's remaining requests for declaratory and injunctive relief were moot. Specifically, AISD and Stoerner argued that because Robinson resigned from AISD in 2005, he was no longer subjected to the alleged unconstitutional conduct. Consequently, there was no live controversy. AISD and Stoerner urged the trial court to dismiss Robinson's claims against them because the trial court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction over the moot claims.

With no response from Robinson, the trial court signed an order granting AISD and Stoerner's plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed Robinson's claims against them. On appeal, Robinson argues that the trial court erred in granting the plea to the jurisdiction and dismissing his claims against AISD and Stoerner because those claims were not moot.¹ In the alternative, Robinson argues that the trial court should have afforded him the opportunity to amend his pleadings to cure any jurisdictional defects.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A plea to the jurisdiction seeks dismissal of a cause based on lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Harris County v. Sykes, 136 S.W.3d 635, 638 (Tex.2004); Ahmed v. Metropolitan Transit Auth., 257 S.W.3d 29, 31 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.). Whether a court has subject-matter jurisdiction and whether a plaintiff has affirmatively demonstrated subject-matter jurisdiction are questions of law that we review de novo. Tex. Dep't of Parks & Wildlife v. Miranda, 133 S.W.3d 217, 226 (Tex.2004). In deciding a plea to the jurisdiction, we may not weigh the merits of the plaintiff's claim, but must consider only the plaintiff's pleadings, construed in favor of the plaintiff, and the evidence pertinent to the jurisdictional inquiry. County of Cameron v. Brown, 80 S.W.3d 549, 555 (Tex.2002); Saturn Capital Corp. v. City of Houston, 246 S.W.3d 242, 244-45 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. denied). When a plaintiff fails to plead facts establishing jurisdiction, but the petition does not affirmatively demonstrate incurable defects in jurisdiction, the issue is one of pleading sufficiency. In that instance, the plaintiff should be afforded the opportunity to amend. Brown, 80 S.W.3d at 555. However, if the pleadings affirmatively negate the existence of jurisdiction, dismissal is proper without allowing the plaintiff an opportunity to amend. Id.

III. MOOTNESS

In his sole issue, Robinson contends that his requests for injunctive and declaratory relief were not moot despite his resignation from AISD and AISD's decision to expunge portions of his employee file. In response, AISD and Stoerner argue that because there is no live controversy, any judicial action on the merits of Robinson's claims would merely be advisory.

The mootness doctrine precludes a court from rendering an advisory opinion in a case where there is no live controversy. Camarena v. Tex. Employment Comm'n, 754 S.W.2d 149, 151 (Tex.1988); Scurlock Permian Corp. v. Brazos County, 869 S.W.2d 478, 487 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied) ("Courts may not give advisory opinions or decide cases upon speculative, hypothetical, or contingent situations."). A declaratory judgment is appropriate when a justiciable controversy exists concerning the rights and status of the parties and the controversy will be resolved by the declaration sought. But an action does not vest a court with the power to decide hypothetical or contingent situations or to determine questions not essential to the decision of an actual controversy, even if such question may require adjudication in the future. Harris County Mun. Util. Dist. No. 156 v. United Somerset Corp., 274 S.W.3d 133, 139-40 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2008, no pet.) (quoting Tex. Health Care Info. Council v. Seton Health Plan, Inc., 94 S.W.3d 841, 846 (Tex.App.-Austin 2002, pet. denied)). A case becomes moot when: (1) it appears that a party seeks to obtain a judgment upon some controversy, when in reality none exists; or (2) a party seeks a judgment upon some matter which cannot have any practical legal effect upon a then existing controversy. Mollinedo v. Tex. Employment Comm'n, 662 S.W.2d 732, 738 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.); Scholl v. Firemen's & Policemen's Civil Serv. Comm'n, 520 S.W.2d 470, 471 (Tex.Civ.App.-Corpus Christi 1975, no writ) (per curiam).

A. Injunctive Relief: Expunging Employee File

Robinson argues that AISD's "unilateral decision to expunge" his employee record did not moot his request for injunctive relief to expunge his records. Relying heavily upon Lakey v. Taylor, Robinson argues that without a judicial admission of wrongdoing or extrajudicial action preventing AISD from reversing its decision to expunge his personnel file in the future, AISD is capable of retracting its expungement of the records. 278 S.W.3d 6 (Tex. App.-Austin 2008, no pet.).

Lakey involved a due-process constitutional challenge to a departmental policy implemented by the Texas Department of Health Services. Id. at 10. Texas law required defendants determined to be incompetent to stand trial but ineligible for bail to be committed to a mental health facility for competency-restoration treatment. Id. These particular commitments were referred to as forensic commitments. The Department operated the state mental health hospital system, which housed and treated a number of forensic-commitment defendants. Id. In 2005, the number of persons required to be committed under the statute increased dramatically and exceeded the number of available hospital beds for forensic commitments. Id. In response, the Department developed a "clearinghouse list," which was essentially a wait list for forensic commitments; the list made all forensic commitments to state hospitals contingent on the availability of space. Consequently, individuals on the clearinghouse list remained in county jail until a state hospital bed was available for competency-restoration treatment. Id.

Thereafter, a group of plaintiffs brought suit against the commissioner seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The plaintiffs requested an injunction requiring the...