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First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. v. Greater Austin Area Telecommunications Network

Appellant sued appellees for breach of contract. Appellees filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that sovereign immunity barred appellant's suit. A judge granted the plea. The Austin Court of Appeals held that appellant's pleaded jurisdictional facts affirmatively demonstrated the trial court's subject-matter jurisdiction. Therefore, the court reversed the order of the trial court and remanded the cause to that court for further proceedings. Austin Court of Appeals, Nos. 03-09-00461-CV & 03-09-00462-CV, 08-10-2010

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OPINION

Appellant First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (the “Bank”), a putative assignee of a contractor’s accounts receivable, sued appellees Greater Austin Area Telecommunications Network, an interlocal administrative agency, and Austin Independent School District (collectively the “government defendants”) for breach of contract. The government defendants filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that sovereign immunity barred the Bank’s suit. The judge who conducted an evidentiary hearing on the plea died before ruling on the matter; a different judge later granted the plea. The Bank appeals in two issues, asserting that (1) the trial court has jurisdiction here because the local government code waives sovereign immunity for an assignee to sue for breach of an assignor’s contract, and (2) the successor judge improperly ruled on the government defendants’ plea without “hearing evidence.” We will reverse the trial court’s order and remand the cause for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

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