John Sampson, Petitioner v. the University of Texas at Austin, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' dismissal of John Sampson's negligence suit against the University of Texas at Austin, holding that his claim is a premises defect action and that the university lacked actual knowledge of the dangerous condition, so sovereign immunity was not waived. The Court applied a de novo review of the jurisdictional plea and required proof of actual knowledge for a premises defect claim. A dissent argued that genuine issues of fact on actual knowledge existed and the trial court should have denied the university's plea.