Young v. Villegas

This is an interlocutory appeal in which the parents of a minor child allegedly injured by negligent medical treatment at a public hospital asserted healthcare-liability claims against a doctor and a supported medical school. Both the doctor and the medical school filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction as well as a motion for summary judgment asserting immunity under section 312.006 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. The medical school asserted no claims for affirmative relief against any party, and the parents nonsuited all of their claims against the medical school before the trial court ruled on the pending motions. The trial court later signed an order denying the doctors motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment. The medical school seeks to assert an interlocutory appeal from this order, claiming that, despite the non-suit, it is still a party in this case and it still may appeal from the trial courts interlocutory order. We conclude the medical schools arguments lack merit and dismiss its appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction. Because the doctor is not a governmental unit, this court lacks appellate jurisdiction over her appeal from the denial of her jurisdictional motion, and we dismiss this appeal as well. Finally, we conclude that, although we have appellate jurisdiction over the doctors appeal from the denial of her motion for summary judgment, the trial court did not err in denying the motion. Accordingly, we affirm the trial courts denial of this motion.