Texas Parks & Wildlife Department v. Callaway

JONES, Justice.

This case presents the issue of whether a governmental agency is protected by sovereign immunity when it takes actions that violate both contractual and extracontractual duties. W.M. Callaway, Jr. owns property on which the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (the “Department”) has an easement for a waterway known as the Keith Lake Water Exchange Pass (the “Pass”). Callaway sued the Department on multiple theories for claims arising out of the Department’s decision to open the Pass to public boat traffic. The Department filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that each of…