Anderson v. Bessman

In Anderson v. Bessman, 365 S.W.3d 119, 123-24 (Tex. App.--Houston 1st Dist. 2011, no pet.), UTMB medical school faculty members who had been fired following post-hurricane budget cuts brought suit against various school officials, alleging tortious interference with their employment relationships, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, fraud, and civil conspiracy. 365 S.W.3d at 123. They alleged that the school officials did not make the firing decision based on applicable rules and regulations but, instead, on "financial incentives and personal animosities" and in bad faith. See id. The school officials sought dismissal under Section 101.106(f), but their motions were denied. See id. at 126. The Court reversed because it was within the school officials' generally assigned duties to evaluate faculty members' performance and the school officials had been specifically asked to make recommendations regarding which faculty should be fired as part of the post-hurricane budget-cut process. See id. at 125. Thus, the fraud claim was subject to Section 101.106(f) dismissal because the actions taken by the governmental employees--even though pleaded as an intentional tort--were within their scope of employment. See id.