CHARLES W. SEYMORE, Justice.
Appellant, the City of Houston ("the City"), files this interlocutory appeal from the trial court's order denying the City's plea to the jurisdiction. We issued our original opinion on July 12, 2011. Thereafter, the City filed a motion for rehearing and a motion for en banc reconsideration. We overrule the City's motion for rehearing, withdraw our previous opinion, and issue this substitute opinion affirming the trial court's order. The City's motion for en banc reconsideration is denied as moot.
Appellee, Rosalaba Rodriguez, alleges she was injured when the vehicle in which she was traveling was struck by a motor-driven vehicle operated by Leslie Carl Hudson, an employee of the City. At the time of the accident, Hudson was operating his vehicle within the course and scope of his employment. Rodriguez filed suit against Hudson and the City simultaneously.
In its sole issue, the City contends the trial court erred by denying its plea to the jurisdiction because Rodriguez irrevocably elected to sue Hudson by suing both the City and Hudson and, thus, suit against the City is barred under subsection (b).
Generally, we review a trial court's order on a motion to dismiss under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Singleton v. Casteel, 267 S.W.3d 547, 550 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied). However, the proper standard of review is determined by the substance of the issue rather than the type of motion considered by the trial court. See In re Doe, 19 S.W.3d 249, 253 (Tex.2000) (to determine proper standard of review, "we must determine whether the [issue] is a question of fact or of law"). The City's plea to the jurisdiction presents an issue regarding statutory interpretation of section 101.106.
Matters of statutory construction are reviewed de novo. City of San Antonio v. Boerne, 111 S.W.3d 22, 25 (Tex. 2003). In construing a statute, our primary goal is to determine and effectuate legislative intent. Grimes Cnty. Bail Bond Bd. v. Ellen, 267 S.W.3d 310, 316 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) (citing In re Canales, 52 S.W.3d 698, 702 (Tex.2001) (orig. proceeding)). If a statute is clear and unambiguous, we need not resort to rules of construction. Id. We may consider, among other things, the statute's objectives and the consequences of a particular construction. Id. We give effect to all the words of a statute, treating none of its language as surplusage when reasonably possible. Phillips v. Bramlett, 288 S.W.3d 876, 880 (Tex.2009). We presume that every word of a statute has been included or excluded for a reason. Old Am. Cnty. Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Sanchez, 149 S.W.3d 111, 115 (Tex.2004).
The Texas Tort Claims Act ("TTCA") establishes a limited waiver of immunity for certain suits against governmental units. Pertinent to our case, the TTCA waives governmental immunity to the extent liability arises from the "use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 101.106. "Because the decision regarding whom to sue has irrevocable consequences, a plaintiff must proceed cautiously before filing suit and carefully consider whether to seek relief from the governmental unit or from the employee individually." Mission Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Garcia, 253 S.W.3d 653, 657 (Tex.2008).
The City argues that Rodriguez's petition naming both the City and Hudson triggered application of subsections (b) and (e) and barred her suit against the City. Essentially, the City contends that a plaintiff forfeits her claims when she files suit simultaneously against both governmental employee and governmental unit because the governmental unit may seek permanent dismissal of its employee pursuant to subsection (e) and permanent dismissal of the claims against itself pursuant to subsection (b). In support of this contention, the City cites Garcia, in which the supreme court concluded that subsection (b) applies even when suit is filed against both the employee and governmental unit. Id. at 659-60. The court explained that "to the extent subsection (b) applies, it bars any suit against the governmental unit regarding the same subject matter, not just suits for which the [TTCA] waives immunity or those that allege common-law claims." Id. at 660 (emphasis added). Relying on this language, the City argues the trial court was required to dismiss Rodriguez's suit against it despite the fact
In Amadi, the plaintiff sued the City and its employee simultaneously for injuries stemming from the employee's operation of a motor-driven vehicle within the course and scope of his employment with the City. Id. at 255-56. We acknowledged the supreme court's broad language in Garcia that subsection (b) "bars any suit..., not just suits for which the [TTCA] waives immunity." Id. at 260 (quoting Garcia, 253 S.W.3d at 659). Nevertheless, we focused on the plain language of subsection (b), which mandates that a suit against a governmental unit is barred regarding the same subject matter when a plaintiff sues the governmental employee "unless the governmental unit consents." Id. We would have ignored the "unless the governmental unit consents" language if we determined subsection (b) requires dismissal of the plaintiff's claims against the City even though they fall within TTCA's waiver of immunity. Id. Accordingly, we concluded that the plaintiff's claims against the City were not barred under subsection (b) because the City consented to the claims under the TTCA. Id. Furthermore, we explained that our holding did not contradict the Garcia court's conclusion that the plaintiff's common-law tort claims were barred under subsection (b) because immunity for the specific common-law tort claims asserted in Garcia was not waived under the TTCA. Id. (citing Garcia, 253 S.W.3d at 659-60); see also City of N. Richland Hills v. Friend, 337 S.W.3d 387, 392 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2011, pet. filed) (recognizing Garcia stands for proposition that subsection (b) bars all claims against a governmental unit except claims for which immunity is waived, such as certain tort claims under the TTCA). Applying Amadi to the present case, we hold that subsection (b) does not bar Rodriguez's claims against the City because the City's immunity relative to the claims is waived under the TTCA. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021(1).
We note that our holdings here and in Amadi potentially conflict with the holdings in two cases cited by the City. See Huntsville v. Briggs, 262 S.W.3d 390 (Tex. App.-Waco 2008, pet. denied); Tex. Dep't of Agric. v. Calderon, 221 S.W.3d 918 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 2007, no pet.), disapproved of on other grounds by Franka v. Velasquez, 332 S.W.3d 367 (Tex.2011).
Though we make no comment regarding the relationship between subsections (b) and (f), to the extent the Briggs and Calderon courts implicitly held that subsection (b) bars claims for which a governmental unit's immunity has been waived under section 101.021 of the TTCA, we disagree.
Accordingly, we overrule the City's sole issue and affirm the trial court's order denying the City's plea to the jurisdiction.