Texas Cordia Construction v. Cantu — Private Government Contractor Cannot Invoke Interlocutory Appeal as “Governmental Unit”; Derivative Sovereign Immunity Fact Question Survives Plea to Jurisdiction
The Thirteenth Court of Appeals dismissed a private contractor’s interlocutory appeal of a denied plea to the jurisdiction because a private LLC is not a “governmental unit” under § 51.014(a)(8); treating the filing as a mandamus petition, the court denied relief because the contractor’s own contract gave it sole responsibility for means and methods of construction, raising a fact question that defeats derivative sovereign immunity — a doctrine the Texas Supreme Court has not yet adopted.