Co-author Kelley Clark Morris

Suing a state and its public officials is difficult because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. There are exceptions. State of Texas v. Signal Drilling, et al. presents several of them.

The rules

The State and its agencies are immune from:

• Suits seeking to construe or enforce contracts to which the State is a party,
• Declaratory judgment actions,
• Ordinary trespass to try title suits.

There are exceptions. For example:

• Claims against a state official in his representative capacity for non-discretionary acts unauthorized by law (the ultra vires exception).
• Claims for an unconstitutional taking of property without adequate compensation.
• Suits to require state officials to comply with statutory or constitutional provisions.

Continue Reading No Sovereign Immunity for the Texas Land Commissioner