City of San Antonio v. Lower Colorado River Authority

The city of San Antonio, acting by and through the San Antonio Water System, sued the Lower Colorado River Authority and its directors for breach of contract. SAWS and LCRA entered into a contract under which SAWS would finance a project to increase the usable water output from the Colorado River in exchange for the right to buy some of the output from LCRA. The parties spent several years planning the project under certain parameters before LCRA declared that some parameters had to change. SAWS filed suit, alleging that LCRA breached the parties' contract. LCRA filed a plea to the jurisdiction that argued it was immune from suit. The trial court granted LCRA's plea to the jurisdiction. The parties' contract satisfies the elements of Texas Local Government Code §271.152. LCRA's immunity from suit is waived. Section 271.153 does not negate this waiver. The trial court's judgment is reversed and remanded. Austin Court of Appeals, No. 03-10-00085-CV, 07-29-2011.

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OPINION

The City of San Antonio, acting by and through the San Antonio Water System (“SAWS”), sued the Lower Colorado River Authority (“LCRA”) and its directors for breach of contract. SAWS and LCRA entered into a contract under which SAWS would finance a project to increase the usable water output from the Colorado River in exchange for the right to buy some of the output from LCRA. The parties spent several years planning the project under certain parameters before LCRA declared that some parameters had to change. SAWS filed suit, alleging that LCRA breached the parties’ contract. LCRA filed a plea to the jurisdiction that argued it was immune from suit under Texas Local Government Code sections 271.152 and 271.153. See Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. §§ 271.152, 271.153 (West 2005 & Supp. 2010). The trial court granted LCRA’s plea to the jurisdiction. For the reasons explained below, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand the cause for further proceedings.

City of San Antonio v. Lower Colorado River Authority

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