Case Citator › Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District

Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District

Is it still good law? What later courts have actually done to this case.

Overruled
Court
Supreme Court of Texas
Citation
453 S.W.2d 812
Decided
Confirmed treatments
5
Flagged citations read
44 of 44
Citing cases (total)
44
Treatment dates
2001–2006
Overruled
A reviewed court has overruled this case. Overruled: Tooke v. City of Mexia expressly overruled Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District's rule that “sue and be sued” language alone waives governmental immunity from suit. All 44 flagged citations have been read.
More on how this was screened

Earlier courts had questioned or confined that rule; those treatments are listed below. Courts continued to cite the separate distinction between immunity from suit and immunity from liability.

Every treatment on this page is written from the citing opinion itself, with a verbatim quote, never copied from a commercial citator. A citation flagged by our screen but not shown here was read and found not to weaken this case.

44 later cases cite Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District; 44 of those citations sat close to treatment language and were flagged for reading, and all of them have been read. Citations that did not sit near treatment language were not flagged and were not read one by one, so a court that weakened this case without using any of that language would not appear here.

Relying on Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District?

This page shows what later courts did to it. Ask about your specific facts and see whether it still carries your argument, with citations you can check.

Treatments

Criticized

  • The Texas Supreme Court found no support for Missouri Pacific's statement that county claim-presentment statutes authorize suit, while distinguishing its holding about a statute containing “sue and be sued” language.

    Travis County v. Pelzel & Associates, Inc. · Supreme Court of Texas · filed

    But Missouri Pacific involved a different statute than the one in this case and that statute, unlike the current version of the statute here, contained “sue and be sued” language. Furthermore, in reviewing that dicta, we have found no cases to support it.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Limited

  • The court declined to extend Missouri Pacific's general consent to suit to claims governed by the Texas Tort Claims Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.

    Tarrant County Hospital District v. Henry · Texas Court of Appeals, Second District · filed

    First, the Missouri Pacific case on which Henry relies only construed the “sue and be sued” provision as a consent to suit on a breach of contract claim. ... Construing the health and safety code and the TTCA and TCHRA so that effect is given to both, we hold that, while the Legislature has generally consented to suit against the Hospital District, that consent is limited by the TTCA and TCHRA.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

  • The Dallas Court of Appeals declined to apply Missouri Pacific's waiver reasoning to a school district's Education Code provision.

    Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc. v. Irving Independent School District · Texas Court of Appeals, Fifth District · filed

    In reaching this conclusion, we reject Satterfield’s assertion that Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brownsville Navigation District, 453 S.W.2d 812 (Tex.1970) mandates a different result.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

  • The Beaumont Court of Appeals declined to extend Missouri Pacific's waiver rule to municipal provisions with similar “sue and be sued” language.

    City of Roman Forest v. Stockman · Texas Court of Appeals, Ninth District · filed

    Finding waiver of governmental immunity in the "sue and be sued" language, the dissent relies on the continued viability of Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brownsville Navigation District, 453 S.W.2d 812, 813 (Tex. 1970). ... Applying the firmly-held and consistent principles set out by the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Legislature since Missouri Pacific, we hold that the "sue and be sued" language in sections 51.013, 51.033, 51.075 of the Texas Local Government Code, does not provide a clear and unambiguous waiver of the City's immunity from suit.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Overruled

  • The Texas Supreme Court overruled Missouri Pacific's holding that “sue and be sued” language, by itself, waives immunity from suit.

    Tooke v. City of Mexia · Supreme Court of Texas · filed

    Accordingly, we conclude that Missouri Pacific must be, and now is, overruled.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Does this case still carry your argument?

Describe your facts. Ezel reads Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Brownsville Navigation District and the cases that treated it, then tells you whether it still holds for your situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace