Hernandez v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services

PUBLISHED This case involves a foster care placement that tragically ended in the death of a minor, Eric Hernandez (""Eric""), while he was in the custody of a state licensed foster family. The natural parents, Nicholas Hernandez and Juana Olalde (collectively, ""the natural parents""), brought this action against former and current employees of the Child Protective Services (""CPS"" or ""the agency""), an arm of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (""TDPRS""), alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and asserting state law negligence claims in connection with the tragic death of young Eric. Prior to Eric's deat h, State CPS officials Lois Lilly (""Lilly"") and Diane Purdin (""Purdin"") (collectively, ""the social workers"") removed the infant child, pending an investigation into suspected child abuse, from the guardianship of his natural parents. On appeal, Lilly and Purdin contend that the district court erred in its denial of their motion for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified and official immunity. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that Lilly and Purdin were entitled to qualified and official immunity, and therefore the district court's denial of the motion to dismiss the claims against Lilly and Purdin is reversed.