Alamo Heights Independent School District, Petitioner v. Catherine Clark, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that Alamo Heights Independent School District's governmental immunity from suit was not waived under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act because coach Catherine Clark produced no evidence that the same-sex harassment she alleged was committed because of her gender, and no evidence of retaliatory intent behind her placement on a growth plan or her termination. As a question of first impression, the Court held that all elements of a circumstantial-evidence TCHRA claim—not just the McDonnell Douglas prima-facie-case element—are jurisdictional facts, so once the employer's jurisdictional evidence rebuts the prima facie presumption, the employee must produce some evidence of pretext and causation to survive a plea to the jurisdiction. Applying Oncale's three evidentiary routes, the Court concluded the record showed the harassing co-worker mistreated men and women alike and that Clark herself attributed the conduct to jealousy, personal animus, and bullying rather than gender. The Court reversed the court of appeals and rendered judgment dismissing Clark's claims. Justice Boyd, joined by Justice Lehrmann, dissented, arguing a reasonable juror could find both the harassment gender-motivated and the adverse actions retaliatory.