law retaliation | retaliatory discharge from employment | termination | demotion | Whistleblower Act claims |
RECENT TEXAS SUPREME COURT DECISIONS
City of Waco, Texas v. Lopez, No. 06-0089 (Tex. July 11, 2008)(Opinion by Justice Wainwright)
(Whistleblower Act, TCHRA, anti-discrimination statute as exclusive remedy for retaliation claim at issue,
failure to satisfy prerequisites for suit by not filing with agency first)
CITY OF WACO, TEXAS v. ROBERT LOPEZ; from Limestone County; 10th district (10-04-00085-CV, 183 SW3d
825, 12-14-05)
The Court reverses the court of appeals' judgment and dismisses the case.
Justice Wainwright delivered the opinion of the Court.
The CHRA affords public employees like Lopez a specific and tailored anti-retaliation remedy, and he was obliged
to use it. Because he failed to do so, and the pleadings and evidence establish that he can no longer pursue a
CHRA claim, the trial court should have granted the City’s plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed the case for lack
of jurisdiction.
PETITIONS DENIED
08-0461
THOMAS LOUIS v. MOBIL CHEMICAL COMPANY, A DIVISION OF EXXON MOBIL OIL CORPORATION, JAMES
BOWSER AND RANDALL ROY; from Jefferson County; 9th district (09-06-00568-CV, 254 SW3d 602, 05-01-08,
pet denied Aug. 1 2008) (Justice O'Neill not sitting) (employment law, IIED, defamation, retaliation)
After his employment with Mobil Chemical Company ceased, Thomas Louis sued his former employer and two
supervisors, James Bowser and Randall Roy, for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and
retaliation. The trial court granted summary judgment for all defendants. The four issues raised by Thomas on
appeal contend material fact issues exist as to each of the claims and that the trial court erred in granting
summary judgment. We find no error and affirm the judgment.
07-1022
JOSEPHINE S. ALOBAIDI v. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON; from Harris
County; 14th district (14-06-00303-CV, ___SW3d ___, 10-30-07, pet. denied March 2008)
(public employment, retaliatory discharge, suits against universities)