(DOWNLOAD) "Smith v. Davis" by Texas Court of Appeals " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Smith v. Davis
- Author : Texas Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 18, 1999
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 53 KB
Description
In this case, we decide whether a county employee, sued independently from his employer, may assert official and sovereign immunity as defenses against a tort claim. Robert Earl Davis sued two Ellis County deputy sheriffs in their individual and official capacities based on events surrounding his arrest for telephone harassment and the eventual dismissal of the charges against him. One of the deputy sheriffs, O.D. Smith, Jr., brings this interlocutory appeal challenging the trial courts refusal to grant him summary judgment on Daviss claim against him for malicious prosecution. Smith contends the trial court erred in not concluding as a matter of law that he was immune from liability in both his individual and official capacities. On the undisputed facts presented, we agree the trial court erred in not granting summary judgment to Smith in his individual capacity under the doctrine of official immunity. But we also conclude Smith was not entitled to summary judgment in his official capacity under the doctrine of sovereign immunity because that affirmative defense was reserved in this case only to Ellis County, which was never made a party in Daviss suit. The trial court, therefore, did not err in denying Smith summary judgment in his official capacity.