Nine years after the death of Cameron Redus, his family settled their lawsuit against University of the Incarnate Word. I previously wrote about that lawsuit here and here. UIW embarked upon a creative defense in which it argued that its police force was an arm of the state government, and therefore, immune from suit. It was a dubious defense. UIW is a private university and always has ben. Yet, that defense had enough legs to drag the suit out for years while the appeals were considered. The suit was filed in 2014.

Trial had been set for Sept. 19, 2022. That trial setting likely led to more serious sorts of negotiations. See San Antonio Express News report for more information.

The trial regarding the death of University of Incarnate Word student Cameron Redus is set for Sept. 19, 2022.  Years of appeals over the issue whether the UIW police department enjoyed governmental immunity was resolved.  That issue was resolved in 2020. See my blog post about that Supreme Court of Texas opinion here.  After that issue was settled, UIW then filed a motion to quash the lawsuit. That motion to quash then lost on appeal on July 30, 2022.  So, nine years after young Redus was killed, the matter may finally reach trial. See San Antonio Express News report for more information.

So, it appears after all that the police force of a private entity is not an arm of the state. I mis-read the Texas Supreme Court’s 2017 decision. I wrote about that 2017 decision here. The Texas Supreme Court has now resolved the issue in University of the Incarnate Word v. Redus, No. 18-0351 (Tex. 5/22/20202), and found that UIW’s small police force is not entitled to sovereign immunity. The Super Court found there were some factors which suggest the small police force compared to other police force. But, in the end, the court noted that its small police force is governed by the UIW Board of Trustees. It is not accountable to the taxpayers or to any state official.

This matter has been on appeal since 2016. See the most recent decision here. It was a silly argument. Yet, it took years to resolve. The 2017 decision suggested that since charter schools have been found to be an arm of the state,  perhaps the UIW police force should also be considered an arm of the state. That such a flimsy argument was considered reflects on the very conservative nature of the Texas Supreme Court.

Well, I described the argument as a silly one, but it was not too silly for the Texas Supreme Court. In the case of Redus v. UIW, the Supreme Court ruled that the law enforcement department of a private university is a governmental body for purposes of qualified immunity. With qualified immunity, the law enforcement officers enjoy greater protection from lawsuits. As I indicated then, the Texas Supreme Court is remarkably friendly to defendants in suits for money damages. I previously wrote about the appeal here.

The court reasoned that charter schools are afforded governmental immunity. Although, charter schools are also expressly provided with governmental immunity by the statute creating charter schools. The court then pointed to the various functions performed by campus police officers which equate to the same functions performed by true governmental police officers.

The court notes that the Texas Tort Claims Act provides that to receive governmental immunity, an entity must be an “institution, agency or organ of government” and derive its status and authority as such from laws passed by the Legislature. The court then asks if the UIW campus police department is part of a larger governmental system. The court pointed to the statutory scheme that makes private charter schools part of the broader public school system in Texas. The statutory scheme that created charter schools expressly provides governmnental immunity to those schools. The Legislature did not say anything similar when it allowed private universities to establish campus police departments. But, said the court, the Legislature allowed private universities to use the same resources true governmental entities use to enforce laws: commissioned peace officers. The court concluded that the UIW police department satisfies the requirements of a governmental entity. It left to the court of appeals to determine the final question, whether sovereign immunity would apply to the lawsuit regarding the death of Cameron Redus in 2013. See the decision here. But, if UIW is now an “organ” of government, that result is essentially decided by this opinion.

No dissent was filed, so we assume the decision was unanimous. The court went to great lengths to reach its intended aim, limiting the lawsuit against UIW. No law gives UIW its status as an organ of government. The reasoning tends to suggest a result oriented decision. The court’s opinion would apparently not apply to private security guards, who are not commissioned peace officers. But, otherwise, it appears that any entity that hires commissioned peace officers for security may become a governmental entity for purposes of the Texas Tort Claims Act. That is a remarkable result. For example, under this reasoning, a celebrity passing through Texas who hires a commissioned peace officer for security would probably achieve governmental entity protections just like UIW.

It seems almost silly to argue, as the University of the Incarnate Word does, that UIW’s police force is a governmental body. Yet, that is the very argument the school made to the Texas Supreme Court yesterday. I previously wrote about this appeal here and here. UIW seeks the status of “qualified immunity.” With the sort of qualified immunity of a governmental entity, the lawsuit by the family of Cameron Redus would be dismissed. Young Mr. Redus was shot and killed by UIW police in 2013. He was killed by a UIW police officer.

The district court and the Fourth Court of Appeals sided with the Redus family. They found that UIW was not an arm of the government. But, the reality of the Texas Supreme Court is that no matter how silly the argument is, if that argument is made by the employer or by the defendant in a claim for damages, that argument might win. The Texas Supreme Court is remarkably biased in favor of the defendant, these days.

The heart of the argument appears not to have changed. UIW is still arguing that since their small police force must be licensed by the state, then it must be a governmental body. The attorney did specific that the school only argues the police force is a governmental body, not UIW in its entirety. See San Antonio Express News report.  . . .  Well, ok, glad that is cleared up. But, still, if state licensing makes a private sector entity public, then every licensed barber is equally an arm of the state government.

Frivolous lawsuits and frivolous defenses have always been around. We see one such frivolous defense in the appeal filed by University of the Incarnate Word. UIW is being sued by the family of Cameron Redus. Mr. Redus was shot by a UIW police officer in 2013 after a traffic stop. The family sued UIW. Now, UIW is making a silly claim. The university is claiming the UIW police department is a state entity, so as to be protected by “qualified immunity.” Qualified immunity means the state, which is normally immune from suit, has not passed a statute removing that immunity. If the UIW police department is immune from suit, then the lawsuit will be dismissed.

But, wait, isn’t UIW a private school? Yes, it is. It would be a huge stretch to turn the UIW police department into an arm of the state government. This is a frivolous appeal in the sense that the chances of success are extremely small. Very likely, this is simply an attempt to delay the lawsuit. UIW, like most defendants, hope to delay and just wear down the plaintiff. For better or for worse, that is our adversarial system of justice works.

One of the things about litigation is that strategy often takes precedence over substance. In the Redus family lawsuit against University of the Incarnate Word, the university asked to dismiss the lawsuit. UIW claimed to be an “arm of the government” such that they would be immune to suits for personal injury. Cough, cough. Yes, that is surely a frivolous defense. How could a private university possibly be considered an arm of any government? In reality, that sort of finding would be about 99.9% impossible. UIW claims the police force is an arm of the government because its officers have to be licensed. But, if that were true, then every barber would be an NSA agent. Its a silly argument. But, it is just cognizable enough to be filed and argued. The state district judge rejected that argument. But, now UIW can appeal and therefore, postpone the lawsuit. Like I said, strategy often is more important than substance in any lawsuit. If the defendant can prolong the lawsuit, then perhaps, a key witness will move away, evidence might be lost, or the family might give up. Delay favors the defendant.

See San Antonio Express-News report here.