Cases With Acceptance of Benefits and Waiver of Immunity

In Texas Natural Resource Conservation Comm'n v. IT-Davy, 998 S.W.2d 898 (Tex. App.--Austin 1999), the contractor alleged in its pleadings that it fully performed the contract and even executed additional work at the express request of the Commission, that the Commission accepted this work, and that the Commission failed to pay for the accepted services. See Texas Natural Resource Conservation Comm'n v. IT-Davy, 998 S.W.2d 898, 902 (Tex. App.--Austin 1999, pet. filed). The contractor pleaded that it conferred a benefit on the agency and the agency accepted that benefit. See id. In Little-Tex Insulation Co. v. General Servs. Comm'n, 997 S.W.2d 358 (Tex. App.--Austin 1999), the Court described the acceptance of benefits and waiver of immunity as akin to the doctrine of estoppel. The Court stated: "We believe receipt and acceptance by the State of a benefit from a contracting party is wholly inconsistent with the State's using its immunity from suit to shield itself from a legal obligation to pay for the value of the benefit. Indeed, such a scenario arguably produces a manifest injustice that cannot in good conscience be tolerated." 997 S.W.2d at 364. In Texas S. Univ. v. Araserve Campus Dining Servs., 981 S.W.2d 929 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1998), the plaintiff company contracted to provide and did deliver $ 122,778.50 in food and services that TSU requested but refused to pay for. See 981 S.W.2d at 930. Araserve sued for the value of the accepted goods and services. See id. In Alamo Community College Dist. v. Obayashi Corp., 980 S.W.2d 745 (Tex. App.--San Antonio 1998), Alamo Community College District entered into a contract with Obayashi Corporation for construction relating to a drainage project at the San Antonio College campus. See Obayashi, 980 S.W.2d at 746. After Obayashi completed the contract work for the base contract price of $ 983,000, the District refused to pay for equitable adjustments made that were necessary to complete the job. See Obayashi, 980 S.W.2d at 747. The court found statutory consent to suit but, in dicta, it also found waiver of sovereign immunity by the District's conduct in instructing Obayashi to exclude certain necessary costs from its bid, establishing a contractual means to cover the costs with an equitable adjustment clause, and accepting Obayashi's performance as full and satisfactory.