"Sue and Be Sued" Clauses No Longer Waive Immunity  

On  June 30, 2006 the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a statute or city charter
provision that grants capacity or authority "to sue and be sued" does not
mean that the entity may be sued (although it does mean that the entity may
itself sue when it feels wronged), i.e. "sue and be sued" language as such
does not waiver governmental immunity.

The Court defended the inconsistency on the ground that governmental
entities must be protected from judgments on fiscal grounds.

See Tooke v. City of Mexia, No. 03-0878 (Tex. June 30, 2006) overruling Missouri Pacific
Railroad Co. v. Brownsville Navigation District, 453 S.W.2d 812, 813 (Tex. 1970).


Public Universities with statutory "sue-and-be-sued" language
(previously considered a legislative waiver of immunity to suit)

University of Texas at Tyler: Texas Education Code Chapter 76

University of Houston: Texas Education Code Section 111.33

The board has the power to sue and be sued in the name of the University of Houston. Venue shall be in either Harris
County or Travis County. The university shall be impleaded by service of citation on the president or any of its vice
presidents. Nothing in this section shall be construed as granting legislative consent for suits against the board, the
University of Houston System, or its component institutions and entities except as authorized by law. Tex. Educ. Code §
111.33  (2005).

Case law

De Miño v. Sheridan, 176 S.W.3d 359 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.)

Freedman v. Univ. of Houston, 110 S.W.3d 504 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist] 2003, no pet.)

Goerke v. University of Houston, 110 S.W.3d 504 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist] 2003, no pet.)

Hirczy de Mino v. Univ. of Houston, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 9045, No. 03-03-00311-CV,
2004 WL 2296131 (Tex. App.--Austin Oct. 14, 2004 pet denied) (mem. op.)