SAN MARCOS — The 15th Court of Appeals has reversed a ruling denying Texas State University’s plea to the jurisdiction in a lawsuit alleging retaliation under the Texas Whistleblower Act and free speech violations.
The lawsuit was brought by Stuart Patrick Wilkinson, a computer programmer and analyst at TSU, where he has worked for more than 37 years. In August of 2023, Wilkinson filed a whistleblower complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation reporting his concern that elements of the university’s software usage practice violated state and federal law.
In his suit, Wilkinson alleges that after making his report to the FBI, he was subjected to a variety of retaliatory actions ranging from merely unpleasant to materially harmful. He claims that he has been insulted by his coworkers, and that TSU has refused to consider promotional opportunities for him, causing him to be “constructively terminated.”
In response to the suit, TSU filed an answer asserting sovereign immunity, and then later a plea to the jurisdiction seeking dismissal because Wilkinson’s pleadings affirmatively negated jurisdiction.
The trial court denied the university’s amended plea and the appeal ensued, court records show.
On Oct. 22, the 15th Court held that Wilkinson failed to plead facts affirmatively demonstrating a waiver of immunity sufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction of his claims, reversing the judgment and dismissing his suit with prejudice.
“A court must decide jurisdictional issues like governmental immunity ‘at its earliest opportunity,’ and bouncing cases back and forth between courts for a plaintiff to try again and again wastes public money and judicial resources,” the opinion states. “Wilkinson had a reasonable opportunity to respond to the Defendants’ jurisdictional objections, but failed to do so.
“Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s denial of the Defendants’ plea to the jurisdiction and render judgment dismissing Wilkinson’s claims with prejudice.”
Appeals case No. 15-25-00028-CV
