On April 29th the Daily Dawg reported on the case from ESC Region 2 in which a couple of people sued over injuries they sustained at a conference sponsored by the ESC. In that decision, the Court of Appeals held that Region 2 was entitled to immunity from a claim of personal injury. Case dismissed.
But there was more to it than that. This event was not held at Region 2’s beautiful headquarters in Corpus Christi. It was at the Nueces County Regional Fairgrounds where the conference facility was managed by Global Spectrum. The injured parties sued Global Spectrum and Global Spectrum turned right around and sued Region 2 based on an alleged breach of contract. The suit claimed that Region 2 had promised to indemnify Global in the event of any claim against it.
Notice: the case reported in April was about a tort. This one is about a breach of contract. Is the ESC immune from that claim also?
The court held that it was. The status of an Education Service Center was a critical factor in this case. Is it more like a local ISD? Or is it more like a state agency? The answer to that question would determine which kind of immunity the ESC has.
The court relied on a 5th Circuit decision from 2002 (Perez v. Region 20 Education Service Center, 307 F.3d 318) to conclude that our twenty ESCs are “arms of the state.” Thus in a lawsuit, they would have the same immunity that T.E.A. has. Key Quote:
…the court found that ESCs are “more closely aligned with state, rather than with local, government” under the Texas Education Code; ESCs primarily rely on state funding, and, unlike local school districts, they do not possess any taxing or bonding authority to raise funds; ESCs “are subject to significant supervision by the state Commissioner of Education” while local school districts enjoy “significant” autonomy.”
Actually, ESCs don’t get most of their funding from the state. They get most of it from the services they provide to local districts. And I’m sure that many school board members would raise an eyebrow at the notion that local districts “enjoy significant autonomy.”
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that the court followed previous rulings in holding that our ESCs are arms of the state and when it comes to litigation they enjoy the same immunities as T.E.A.
It’s Education Service Center Region 2 v. Global Spectrum, LP, decided by the Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi-Edinburg on June 30, 2022. It’s cited at 2022 WL 2348059.
DAWG BONE: ESCs ARE MORE LIKE T.E.A. THAN ISDs.
Got a question or comment for the Dawg? Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com.
Tomorrow: Toolbox Tuesday!! What about 504?