Delaney v. University of Houston

In Delaney v. University of Houston, 835 S.W.2d 56, 60, 35 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 685 (Tex. 1992), the Texas Supreme Court held that a negligence action by a rape victim against a public university was not barred by sovereign immunity where the plaintiff's cause of action was based on the university's alleged failure to provide her a secure residence and to fix a broken lock. Id. The supreme court noted that section 101.057(2) of the TTCA precludes the extension of the TTCA's waiver of immunity to claims "arising out of assault, battery, false imprisonment, or any other intentional tort." Id. at 59. However, it stated that the phrase "arising out of" in section 101.057(2) requires a certain nexus for the provision to apply; that nexus is between the claim and an intentional tort, and the intentional tortfeasor must be the governmental employee whose conduct is the subject of complaint. Id. In that case, the intentional tortfeasor, the rapist, was not the governmental employee whose conduct was the subject of Delaney's claims against the university. Distinct negligence claims that focus on the actions of the governmental defendant are not barred. Id.