In this premises liability case, we are asked to decide whether a two-inch difference in elevation between traffic lanes on a roadway constitutes a special defect as a matter of law under the Texas Tort Claims Act. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 101.022(b). The court of appeals held this road condition was a special defect, finding the two-inch difference in elevation “an unusual or unexpected danger to normal users of roadways.” 222 S.W.3d 903, 909 (quoting State Dep’t of Highways & Pub. Transp. v. Payne, 838 S.W.2d 235, 238 (Tex. 1992)). Because we conclude that a two-inch variance in elevation between traffic lanes is not a special defect, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and dismiss the case.
Kenneth Reed brought suit against the City of Dallas to recover personal injury damages from a motorcycle accident caused by a two-inch elevation variance on the roadway as he changed lanes. Reed alleges the sharp unevenness between the traffic lanes constitutes either a special defect or a premises defect under the Texas Tort Claims Act. In response, the City filed a plea to the jurisdiction, arguing the two-inch elevation difference between the lanes was not a defect of any kind to waive the City’s immunity under the Act. The trial court, however, denied the plea, and the City filed an interlocutory appeal. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of the plea to the jurisdiction, finding Reed pled a cognizable cause of action. 222 S.W.3d at 909.
Before reaching the merits, we must consider the issue of our own jurisdiction. Generally, a court of appeals’ decision in an interlocutory appeal is final, unless an exception applies, such as when a court of appeals holds differently from a prior decision of this Court or another court of appeals. TEX. GOV’T CODE §§ 22.225(b), (c); 22.001(a)(2). Decisions that hold differently are defined to include those that have an “inconsistency in their respective decisions that should be clarified to remove unnecessary uncertainty in the law and unfairness to litigants.” Id. § 22.225(e). Such a conflict exists here because the court of appeals’ opinion is inconsistent with our decisions in Harris County v. Eaton, 573 S.W.2d 177, 178-80 (Tex. 1978), and City of El Paso v. Bernal, 986 S.W.2d 610, 611 (Tex. 1999).
