Williams v. British Airways, PLC et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
PATRICIA WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
BRITISH AIRWAYS, PLC, et al.,
Defendants.
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§ 	CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:25-CV-02681
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ORDER
Pursuant to this Court's informal discovery dispute procedures, the Plaintiff, Patricia
Willliams ("Williams"), has raised the failure of the Defendant, City of Houston ("City"), to
participate in a broad based discovery process. Williams claims she was injured due to the
negligence of the City in either the design or building of a terminal at Bush Intercontinental
Airport. The City claims it enjoys sovereign immunity (and that includes immunity from the costs
of participating in discovery) and the Texas Tort Claims Act, Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code §101.001
et seq., provides no exception to this immunity. In this regard, it has filed a motion to dismiss. This
Court, in an abundance of caution, given the kinds of evidence that all parties were asking it to
consider, elected to consider these pleadings as a motion for summary judgment and gave the
parties additional time to amend their pleadings and exhibits.
The City relies upon the distinction between discretionary powers/actions and ministerial
(mandatory) powers/actions. The latter is subject to the Texas Tort Claims Act and its exceptions;
while the former is not. See Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code §101.056. Whether an act is discretionary
is a question oflaw. State v. Miguel, 2 S.W.3d 249, 251 (Tex. 1999) (per curiam). There have been
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
May 22, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
Case 4:25-cv-02681 Document 50 Filed 05/21/26 in TXSD Page 1 of 2

more than a few cases in which governmental units have been held immune in their design and
building decisions due to the fact that these are considered to be discretionary functions. See, e.g.,
Univ . of Tex. Health Sci. Ctr. at San Antonio v. Bruen, 92 S.W.3d 24 (Tex. App.-San Antonio
2002, pet. denied); Sullivan v. City of Fort Worth , 2011 WL 1902018 (Tex. App.- 	Fort Worth
May 19 , 2011, pet. denied). The Court adds parenthetically that the allegations in the Bruen case
are strikingly similar to ones herein.
The Court finds the City's general proposition of law to be correct, but it also finds that
Williams has the right to investigate the application of the ministerial-discretionary dichotomy.
Therefore, it will allow Williams to conduct discovery between now and June 30, 2026 solely
limited to this dichotomy. Williams and the City have until July 10th to amend any pleadings.
After July 10th, the Court will take up the City's motion for summary judgment.
As per the agreement of the parties at the May 19th phone conference, the Court will take
up British Airways' motion as soon as its docket permits.
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Signed on this 1.,l 	day of May 2026.
Andrew S. Hanen
United States District Judge
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Case 4:25-cv-02681 Document 50 Filed 05/21/26 in TXSD Page 2 of 2