Brown & Gay Engineering, Inc., Petitioner v. Zuleima Olivares

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, holding that a private engineering contractor is not entitled to sovereign immunity for negligent design work performed under a contract with a governmental unit. The Court reasoned that extending immunity to independent contractors does not further the doctrine’s purpose of protecting the public treasury from unforeseen expenditures. A concurring opinion agreed with the judgment but criticized the majority’s analysis of the doctrine’s purpose.