City of San Antonio v. Roxana Tenorio, Individually and on Behalf of Pedro Tenorio ( 2015 )


Menu:
  •                                                                                         ACCEPTED
    04-15-00259-CV
    FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS
    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
    6/24/2015 10:14:34 PM
    KEITH HOTTLE
    CLERK
    NO. 04-15-00259-CV
    FILED IN
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS      4th COURT OF APPEALS
    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
    FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT OF TEXAS
    06/24/2015 10:14:34 PM
    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
    KEITH E. HOTTLE
    CITY OF SAN ANTONIO                Clerk
    APPELLANT
    V.
    ROXANA TENORIO, INDIVIDUALLY
    AND ON BEHALF OF PEDRO TENORIO, DECEASED
    APPELLEE
    From the 73rd District Court of Bexar County, Texas
    Trial Court No. 2014-CI-14704
    Honorable Stephani Walsh, Judge Presiding
    BRIEF OF APPELLANT,
    CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
    Dan Pozza                         Martha G. Sepeda, Acting City Attorney
    State Bar No. 16224800            State Bar No. 13143100
    Attorney at Law                   Michael D. Siemer, Assistant City Attorney
    239 East Commerce Street          State Bar No. 18343670
    San Antonio, Texas 78205          Office of the City Attorney
    (210) 226-8888 – Phone            Litigation Division
    (210) 224-6373 – Fax              111 Soledad Street, 10th Floor
    danpozza@yahoo.com                San Antonio, Texas 78205
    (210) 207-8784 – Phone
    (210) 207-4357 – Fax
    martha.sepeda@sanantonio.gov
    michael.seimer@sanantonio.gov
    ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT,
    CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
    IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL
    Appellant                          Appellate Counsel
    City of San Antonio                Dan Pozza
    State Bar No. 16224800
    Attorney at Law
    239 East Commerce Street
    San Antonio, TX 78205
    (210) 226-8888 – Phone
    (210) 224-6373 – Fax
    danpozza@yahoo.com
    Appellate and Trial Counsel
    Martha G. Sepeda, Acting City Attorney
    State Bar No. 13143100
    Michael D. Siemer, Assistant City Attorney
    State Bar No. 18343670
    Office of the City Attorney
    Litigation Division
    111 Soledad Street, 10th Floor
    San Antonio, TX 78205
    (210) 207-8784 – Phone
    (210) 207-4357 – Fax
    martha.sepeda@sanantonio.gov
    michael.seimer@sanantonio.gov
    Appellee                           Appellate and Trial Counsel
    Rosana Tenorio, Individually and   Joe Brad Brock
    on Behalf of Pedro Tenorio,        State Bar No. 03040830
    Deceased                           Law Office of Joe Brad Brock
    5866 S. Staples, Suite 103
    Corpus Christi, TX 78413
    (361) 884-1086 – Phone
    (361) 884-8446 – Fax
    joebrad@thebrocklawfirm.com
    -ii-
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    Page
    IDENTITY OF PARTIES AND COUNSEL ........................................................... ii
    TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... iii
    INDEX OF AUTHORITIES......................................................................................v
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE ............................................................................... vii
    STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT ........................................... viii
    ISSUES PRESENTED............................................................................................. ix
    1.       Because the evidence is conclusive that the City of San Antonio did
    not have subjective awareness of its fault, the City of San Antonio did
    not have actual notice. ................................................................................... ix
    2.       Because the City of San Antonio conclusively disproved it had actual
    notice, it retains governmental immunity from suit that defeats the
    trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction. ......................................................... ix
    STATEMENT OF FACTS ........................................................................................1
    SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ........................................................................2
    ARGUMENT .............................................................................................................3
    I.       Notice provisions are jurisdictional requirements in suits against a
    governmental unit. .......................................................................................... 3
    II.      Tenorio did not comply with any of the notice provisions............................. 5
    III.     Actual notice means subjective awareness of fault. ....................................... 5
    IV.      There is not a shred of evidence within the exhaustive investigative
    materials provided to Tenorio that the City had subjective awareness
    of fault. ............................................................................................................ 9
    CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................10
    -iii-
    PRAYER ..................................................................................................................11
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ................................................................................12
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE .......................................................................13
    APPENDIX
    Tab A             Order Denying Defendant, City of San Antonio’s Plea to the
    Jurisdiction
    -iv-
    INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
    Cases                                                                                                Page
    Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue,
    
    34 S.W.3d 547
    (Tex. 2000) ........................................................................3
    Cathey v. Booth,
    
    900 S.W.2d 339
    (Tex. 1995) (per curiam) ............................................ 5, 6
    City of Amarillo v. Martin,
    
    971 S.W.2d 426
    (Tex. 1998) ......................................................................4
    City of Dallas v. Carbajal,
    
    324 S.W.3d 537
    (Tex. 2010) ................................................................. 4, 7
    City of Houston v. Torres,
    
    621 S.W.2d 588
    (Tex. 1981) ......................................................................5
    Harris County v. Sykes,
    
    136 S.W.3d 635
    (Tex. 2004) ......................................................................4
    Mayhew v. Town of Sunnyvale,
    
    964 S.W.2d 922
    (Tex. 1998) ......................................................................3
    Miranda v. Tex. Dep’t of Parks & Wildlife,
    
    133 S.W.3d 217
    (Tex. 2004). .....................................................................3
    Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd.,
    
    852 S.W.2d 440
    (Tex. 1993) ......................................................................3
    Tex. Dep’t of Criminal Justice v. Miller,
    
    51 S.W.3d 583
    (Tex. 2001) ................................................................... 3, 4
    Tex. Dep’t of Transp. v. Jones,
    
    8 S.W.3d 636
    (Tex. 1999) ..........................................................................4
    Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm’n v. IT-Davy,
    
    74 S.W.3d 849
    (Tex. 2002) ........................................................................3
    Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Simons,
    
    140 S.W.3d 338
    (Tex. 2004) ................................................................. 6, 8
    -v-
    Statutes
    TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN., Chapter 101.......................... 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9
    TEX. GOV’T CODE § 311.034.................................................................................4
    -vi-
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE
    Nature of the case.         Roxana Tenorio, Individually and on behalf of Pedro
    Tenorio, Deceased (“Tenorio”), brought suit against the
    City of San Antonio under the Texas Tort Claims Act.
    CR 1-6.
    Course of proceedings.      The City of San Antonio filed a Plea to the Jurisdiction
    based on Tenorio’s failure to provide notice of her
    claim within the relevant city charter and statutory
    notice provision deadlines and because the City of San
    Antonio did not have actual notice of her claim. CR 11-
    61.
    Trial court disposition.    The trial court denied the City of San Antonio’s Plea to
    the Jurisdiction. Tab A. CR 76-77.
    -vii-
    STATEMENT REGARDING ORAL ARGUMENT
    Because the evidence is conclusive that the City of San Antonio was not
    subjectively aware of its fault, the City of San Antonio did not have actual notice.
    The City of San Antonio does not believe this Court’s decisional process will be
    aided by oral argument.
    -viii-
    ISSUES PRESENTED
    1.   Because the evidence is conclusive that the City of San Antonio did not have
    subjective awareness of its fault, the City of San Antonio did not have actual
    notice.
    2.   Because the City of San Antonio conclusively disproved it had actual notice,
    it retains governmental immunity from suit that defeats the trial court’s
    subject matter jurisdiction.
    -ix-
    TO THE HONORABLE FOURTH COURT OF APPEALS:
    Appellant, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, files this its Brief of Appellant, and
    respectfully shows the Court as follows:
    STATEMENT OF FACTS
    Tenorio brought suit against the City of San Antonio (“the City”) under the
    Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN., Chapter
    101, alleging that she was severely injured, and her husband was killed, in a motor
    vehicle collision on September 2, 2012. At the time of the collision she and her
    husband were riding on a motorcycle on Loop 410 in San Antonio, Texas when
    they were struck head-on by a vehicle being operated by Defendant, Benito Garza.
    Garza was driving on the wrong side of the highway at the time of the collision.
    Tenorio alleges that at the time of the collision Garza was being pursued by
    officers of the San Antonio Police Department (“SAPD”) and further alleges that
    SAPD officers were negligent in initiating the pursuit and in failing to terminate
    the pursuit. CR 1-6.
    Tenorio did not give the City notice of her claim, nor of the claim asserted
    on behalf of her husband, before filing suit almost two years after the collision.
    Tenorio failed to give the City notice of her claim within ninety (90) days as
    required under Article XII, Sec. 150 of the City of San Antonio Charter (CR 58)
    and failed to give notice of her claim within six months as required by §101.101
    Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. Instead, Tenorio asserts that the City had actual
    notice of her claim as a result of (1) the “Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report”
    (TXDOT Form CR-3) prepared by SAPD after the accident 1 (2) a number written
    witness statements; and (3) by the SAPD Incident Report. CR 55.
    SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
    Notice to a governmental entity, such as the City of San Antonio, is a
    jurisdictional requirement. Tenorio did not give notice of her claim to the City of
    San Antonio as required by TEX. CIV. PRAC & REM. CODE ANN. §101.101(a) nor
    did she give notice of her claim against the City as required by Article XII, Sec.
    150 of the Charter of the City of San Antonio and as ratified by TEX. CIV. PRAC &
    REM. CODE ANN. §101.101(b). Likewise, the City of San Antonio did not have
    actual, subjective awareness of its alleged fault in producing or contributing to
    Tenorio’s injuries or those of her husband. Accordingly, the trial court lacks
    subject matter jurisdiction because the City of San Antonio retains its
    governmental immunity. Tenorio’s suit should be dismissed for lack of
    jurisdiction.
    1
    The codes contained in the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report – Code Sheet (TxDOT
    Form CR – 3CS) can be found on the Texas Department of Transportation’s website at:
    http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_notifications/cr3_code_sheet.pdf; also
    see CR 59-60.
    -2-
    ARGUMENT
    I.     Notice provisions are jurisdictional requirements in suits against a
    governmental unit.
    Governmental immunity from suit defeats a trial court's subject matter
    jurisdiction and is properly asserted in a plea to the jurisdiction. See Miranda v.
    Tex. Dep’t of Parks & Wildlife, 
    133 S.W.3d 217
    , 224 (Tex. 2004). A plea to the
    jurisdiction is a dilatory plea by which a party challenges a court's authority to
    determine the subject matter of the action. Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 
    34 S.W.3d 547
    , 554 (Tex. 2000). A party suing a governmental entity bears the
    burden of affirmatively showing that the trial court has jurisdiction to hear the
    cause. Tex. Dep’t of Criminal Justice v. Miller, 
    51 S.W.3d 583
    , 587 (Tex. 2001).
    Whether a trial court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law subject to
    de novo review by the appellate court. Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm’n v.
    IT-Davy, 
    74 S.W.3d 849
    , 855 (Tex. 2002); Mayhew v. Town of Sunnyvale, 
    964 S.W.2d 922
    , 928 (Tex. 1998). When considering a plea to the jurisdiction, the
    court must construe the pleadings in favor of the pleader and look to the pleader's
    intent. Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 
    852 S.W.2d 440
    , 446 (Tex.
    1993). However, the court is not required to look solely to the pleadings when
    deciding a plea to the jurisdiction; the court may consider evidence relevant to
    jurisdiction when necessary to resolve the jurisdictional issue. 
    Blue, 34 S.W.3d at 555
    .
    -3-
    Sovereign immunity from suit defeats a trial court's subject matter
    jurisdiction unless the State expressly consents to the suit. Tex. Dep’t of Transp. v.
    Jones, 
    8 S.W.3d 636
    , 638 (Tex. 1999). Governmental immunity operates like
    sovereign immunity to afford similar protection to subdivisions of the State,
    including counties, cities, and school districts. Harris County v. Sykes, 
    136 S.W.3d 635
    , 638 (Tex. 2004). A plaintiff must affirmatively demonstrate the trial court's
    jurisdiction by alleging a valid waiver of immunity. 
    Miller, 51 S.W.3d at 587
    .
    Thus, under the doctrine of governmental immunity, a municipality is immune
    from tort liability for its own acts or the acts of its agents and employees unless the
    Texas Tort Claims Act, TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §101.001 et seq. (“the
    TTCA”) clearly and unambiguously waives immunity. City of Amarillo v. Martin,
    
    971 S.W.2d 426
    (Tex. 1998). In order to recover against a governmental entity,
    such as the City of San Antonio, a plaintiff must give timely notice of her claim to
    the City. TEX. CIV. PROC. & REM. CODE § 101.101(a).
    The provision of notice is a jurisdictional requirement in all suits against a
    governmental unit. TEX. GOV’T CODE § 311.034; See also City of Dallas v.
    Carbajal, 
    324 S.W.3d 537
    (Tex. 2010). Article XII, Section 150 of the City of San
    Antonio Charter requires a plaintiff to give the City written notice of any claim for
    injuries or damages within ninety (90) days after the injuries or damages were
    sustained, as a condition precedent to recovery. CR 58. Section 101.101(b) of the
    -4-
    Texas Tort Claims Act (“TTCA”) ratifies and approves this provision. See TEX.
    CIV. PRAC & REM. CODE ANN. §101.101(b). The Texas Supreme Court has held
    that Charter notice requirements are mandatory and their satisfaction is a condition
    precedent to maintaining a cause of action. See City of Houston v. Torres, 
    621 S.W.2d 588
    , 591 (Tex. 1981).
    II.    Tenorio did not comply with any of the notice provisions.
    Tenorio concedes in her Answers to Interrogatories that she did not give
    notice of her claim to the City of San Antonio within the time prescribed by the
    City Charter. She likewise concedes that she did not give notice of her claim
    against the City of San Antonio in the timeframe provided by Tex. Civ. Prac. &
    Rem. Code Ann. §101.101(a). CR 55. Therefore, Tenorio must rely upon the
    “actual notice” provision of the TTCA.
    III.   Actual notice means subjective awareness of fault.
    Section 101.101(c) of the TTCA provides that the formal notice
    requirements of section 101.101(a) “do not apply if the governmental unit has
    actual notice that death has occurred, that the claimant has received some injury, or
    that the claimant's property has been damaged.” TEX. CIV. PRAC & REM. CODE
    ANN. § 101.101(c). In Cathey v. Booth, the Texas Supreme Court held that a
    governmental entity has actual notice when it has “knowledge of (1) a death,
    injury, or property damage; (2) the governmental unit's alleged fault producing or
    -5-
    contributing to the death, injury, or property damage; and (3) the identity of the
    parties involved.” Cathey v. Booth, 
    900 S.W.2d 339
    , 341 (Tex. 1995) (per curiam).
    In Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Simons, 
    140 S.W.3d 338
    , 343–48 (Tex.
    2004) the Texas Supreme Court clarified the meaning of the second requirement:
    What we intended in Cathey by the second requirement
    ... was that a governmental unit have knowledge that
    amounts to the same notice to which it is entitled by
    section 101.101(a). That includes subjective awareness of
    its fault, as ultimately alleged by the claimant, in
    producing or contributing to the claimed injury.... It is not
    enough that a governmental unit should have investigated
    an incident ..., or that it did investigate, perhaps as part of
    routine safety procedures, or that it should have known
    from the investigation it conducted that it might have
    been at fault. If a governmental unit is not subjectively
    aware of its fault, it does not have the same incentive to
    gather information that the statute is designed to provide,
    even when it would not be unreasonable to believe that
    the governmental unit was at 
    fault. 140 S.W.3d at 347
    –48.
    In this passage, and several others, the Texas Supreme Court has made clear
    that merely investigating an accident is insufficient to provide a city with actual
    notice of a claim. See, e.g., 
    id. at 347
    (“Cathey cannot fairly be read to suggest that
    a governmental unit has actual notice of a claim if it could or even should have
    learned of its possible fault by investigating the incident.”); 
    id. at 348
    (“[A]
    governmental unit cannot acquire actual notice merely by conducting an
    investigation, or even by obtaining information that would reasonably suggest its
    -6-
    culpability. The governmental unit must have actual, subjective awareness of its
    fault in the matter.”).
    The Texas Supreme Court has explicitly held that a police report noting the
    perceived cause of an accident does not provide a governmental unit with actual
    notice     of    its   fault   in   causing      the   accident.   In   City of Dallas v.
    Carbajal, 
    324 S.W.3d 537
    (Tex. 2010) the Texas Supreme Court held that a police
    report concerning an automobile accident was, at most, an initial response to an
    accident, and held that the police report failed to give the City of Dallas actual
    notice of the Plaintiff’s claim. See 
    id. at 538.
    The facts of Carbajal are highly instructive. Olivia Carbajal sued the City
    of Dallas for injuries she sustained after driving onto an excavated road. 
    Id. at 538.
    A Dallas police officer who responded to the accident filed a written report
    describing the accident, in relevant part, as follows:
    Comp[lainant] said that she saw the barricades but none
    were blocking what she thought was a clear way to get on
    the freeway. Comp[lainant] said that before she knew it
    she had driven her veh[icle] into a gap on the street. [I]
    observed at the listed offense loc[ation] that there were
    no barricades blocking the gap in the road.
    
    Id. at 538.
    Summarizing the incident, the police report stated that Carbajal drove her
    “veh[icle] into [a] gap in [the] street [that] was not properly blocked.” 
    Id. at 538.
    Approximately a year after the accident, Carbajal filed suit against the City of
    -7-
    Dallas. 
    Id. at 538.
    It was undisputed that Carbajal did not provide formal notice as
    required by TEX. CIV. PRAC & REM. CODE ANN. § 101.101(a). 
    Id. at 538.
    Carbajal
    contended, however, that the police report provided the City of Dallas with
    subjective awareness of the claim, thereby establishing actual notice under TEX.
    CIV. PRAC & REM. CODE ANN. § 101.101(c). Arguing that the report did not
    provide actual notice, the City of Dallas filed a plea to the jurisdiction. The trial
    court denied the plea, and the court of appeals affirmed.
    In reversing the holding of the Dallas Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme
    Court noted that, even though both parties agreed that the road was not properly
    barricaded, the police report in question did not provide the City of Dallas with
    subjective awareness of its fault because it did not expressly state that the City was
    at fault. 
    Carbajal, 324 S.W.3d at 538
    . The Court noted that the report only
    described the apparent cause of the accident (missing barricades) and did not say
    who failed to erect or maintain the barricades. 
    Id. at 538.
    The Texas Supreme
    Court held that the police report was merely a routine investigation, and was
    insufficient to provide actual notice to the City of Dallas. 
    Id. at 538
    (citing Texas
    Department of Criminal Justice v. Simons, 
    140 S.W.3d 338
    (Tex. 2004)).
    -8-
    IV.   There is not a shred of evidence within the exhaustive investigative
    materials provided to Tenorio that the City had subjective awareness of
    fault.
    In this case, Tenorio admits that she failed to give notice of her claim to the
    City of San Antonio as required by §101.101 Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann.
    Likewise, Tenorio admits that she did not give notice to the City of San Antonio as
    required by the City Charter. Instead, Tenorio contends (CR 55) that the City had
    actual notice of her claim by virtue of (1) the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report
    (CR 22-25); (2) the sworn statements of the witnesses (CR 26-43); and (3) the
    SAPD Offense Report concerning the crash in question (CR 44-52).
    But none of these documents support Tenorio’s contention. Nowhere in any
    of the documents identified by Tenorio does it allege that the City, or any
    employee of the City, caused the accident, was at fault, did anything wrong or was
    in any way culpable. In Box No. 36 of the Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report,
    labeled “Contributing Factors (Investigator’s Opinion)”, the vehicle designated as
    “Unit 1” ( Unit 1 is identified on the first page of the Crash Report as being
    operated by Garza) the investigating officer listed the code number “43” which
    means “Fleeing or Evading Police”. CR 23. The investigating officer did not list
    any other factors that contributed to the accident. The investigating officer only
    attributed contributing factor to Garza and did not list any city employee as
    contributing to the cause of the accident.
    -9-
    In the “Investigator’s Narrative Opinion of What Happened” the
    investigating officer notes that “driver of unit 1 was evading police” but says
    nothing that even infers that any City employee did anything wrong or was at fault
    in any way in causing the accident. CR 23. Nowhere in any of the written
    statements identified by the Tenorio does anyone say that the City, or any of its
    employees did anything wrong, and nowhere in the SAPD Incident report does it
    say that the City, or any of its employees did anything wrong. CR 26-52. Absent
    some evidence, somewhere, that the City or its employees did something wrong or
    was in some way at fault in causing the Tenorio’s injuries or her husband’s death,
    there is no actual notice to the City. If there is no actual notice to the City, then the
    City’s immunity to suit is preserved and the case must be dismissed for lack of
    subject matter jurisdiction.
    CONCLUSION
    Notice of a claim to a governmental entity, such as the City of San Antonio,
    is a jurisdictional requirement. Because Tenorio did not give formal notice of her
    claim to the City of San Antonio under the City Charter or by statute, she must
    show that the City had actual, subjective awareness of its fault or culpability in
    causing the accident. In this case, the City did not have actual notice of its alleged
    culpability. The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report, the written witness
    statements and the SAPD Offense Report concerning the crash in question do not
    -10-
    contain any allegation of wrongdoing on the part of the City or its officers. None of
    the documents submitted as part of the City’s Plea or Tenorio’s response make any
    reference to the City’s fault or culpability in causing the accident. The City
    conclusively proved it did not have actual notice.
    PRAYER
    Appellant, City of San Antonio, prays that the trial court’s denial of its Plea
    to the Jurisdiction be reversed and the case dismissed for lack of subject-matter
    jurisdiction. The City also prays for all such other relief to which it is entitled.
    Respectfully submitted,
    Martha G. Sepeda, Acting City Attorney
    State Bar No. 13143100
    Michael D. Siemer, Assistant City Attorney
    State Bar No. 18343670
    Office of the City Attorney
    Litigation Division
    111 Soledad Street, 10th Floor
    San Antonio, Texas 78205
    (210) 207-8784 – Phone
    (210) 207-4357 – Fax
    martha.sepeda@sanantonio.gov
    michael.seimer@sanantonio.gov
    -11-
    /s/Dan Pozza
    Dan Pozza
    State Bar No. 16224800
    239 East Commerce Street
    San Antonio, Texas 78205
    (210) 226-8888 – Phone
    (210) 224-6373 – Fax
    danpozza@yahoo.com
    ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT
    CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
    I hereby certify that a true copy of the above and foregoing Brief of
    Appellant was served via electronic transmission, on this the 25th day of June,
    2015, to:
    Joe Brad Brock
    Law Office of Joe Brad Brock
    5866 S. Staples, Suite 103
    Corpus Christi, TX 78413
    joebrad@thebrocklawfirm.com
    Attorney for Rosana Tenorio, Individually
    and on Behalf of Pedro Tenorio, Deceased
    /s/Dan Pozza
    -12-
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
    1.   The undersigned certifies that this Brief of Appellant complies with the type-
    volume limitation of Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(i)(2)(D) because this brief contains
    2,600 words, excluding parts of the brief exempted by Tex. R. App. P.
    9.4(i)(1).
    2.   This brief complies with the typeface requirement of Tex. R. App. P. 9.4(e)
    because this brief has been prepared in a conventional typeface of 14-point
    font in the text.
    /s/Dan Pozza
    -13-
    TAB A
    No. 2014CI14704
    ROXANA TENORIO, INDIVIDUALLY                     §                   IN THE DISTRICT COURT
    AND ON BEHALF OF PEDRO
    TENORIO, DECEASED
    §
    v.                                               §                   73RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT
    §
    BENITO GARZA AND CITY OF SAN                     §
    ANTONIO                                          §                   BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS
    ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S
    PLEA TO THE JURISDICTION
    On this date came on to be heard Defendant CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S Plea to
    the Jurisdiction. The Plaintiff and the Defendant appeared by and through counsel, and
    after considering the City of San Antonio's Plea to the Jurisdiction, the pleadings on file
    and the argument of counsel, the Court finds the Defendant, City of San Antonio's Plea
    to the Jurisdiction should be in all things DENIED.
    Accordingly, it is Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that Defendant, City of San
    Antonio's, Plea to the Jurisdiction is DENIED.
    11PfJ../1...
    SIGNED AND ENTERED this           l0    day ofMttrch, 2015.
    APPROVED AS TO FORM ONLY:
    CITY OF SAN ANTONIO
    Martha G. Sepeda, Acting City Attorney
    SBN: 13143100
    Office of the City Attorney
    Litigation Division
    111 Soled St., 10111 Floor
    San Ant ·o, TX 78205
    1emer
    Assistant City Attorney
    SBN: 18343670
    (210) 207-8784 I (210) 207-4357 FAX
    Attorney for Defendant, City of San Antonio
    Law Offi e o~oe, Bra 'Brock
    5866 S. S pl , S ite 103
    Corpus Ch ti , a 78413
    \
    Joe Brad B o ~.
    Attorney for laintiff
    SBN: