"At his best, man is the noblest of animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst."
~ Aristotle
HEATHER KUTYBA vs. ASHLEE WATTS, D.V.M.
and
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
In August of 2017 a lawsuit was filed in
Brazos County, TX
Allegations:
Count 1: Negligence (Dr. Watts)
Count 2: Negligence (TAMU)
Count 3: Gross Negligence (All Defendants)
Count 4: Negligent hiring, Training, and/or Supervision (TAMU)
Count 5: Fraudulent Misrepresentation (Dr. Watts)
The case entered the 361st District Court .
A Jury Trial date of August 2018 was issued
This affects you. Click here.
As an "agency of the State", TAMU then sought immunity for Ashlee Watts, DVM
and itself through a series of Pleas to the Jurisdiction.
A plea to the jurisdiction is intended to defeat a cause of action, before it gets to
a jury trial, regardless if the claims asserted have merit or not.
There are few things stronger in Texas law, than Sovereign Immunity. It was designed to protect our legislators during the course and scope of governing.
I fail to understand how a 100% profit oriented Veterinary facility Netting untold MILLIONS a year providing healthcare has anything to do with governing (it doesn't)....alas, one has to dance with the partner in front of them, and I got the hairy beast.
It is indeed "good to be king."
Edmund Burke once said,
"It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but humanity, reason and justice tell me I ought to do."
A good lawyer is obligated to tell a client all the bad points without influencing a decision. I have learned a lot about the law, from some exceptional JD's. While the law has not necessarily been in my favor, I have come to appreciate it for all it's strength & weakness'.
At the end of the day, this is MY LEGAL SYSTEM too. The Judicial Branch is not reserved for only the mighty, the government, the rich or select. It is for everybody.
Brazos County District 361st
Court Hearing
April 6, 2018
It takes a certain act of strength or stupidity to enter a courtroom knowing the odds of prevailing are minimal.
Steeled for whatever may come, my attorney and I were ready and willing to argue my case. Showing up & standing up counts folks...and I was going to walk through any door available.
Before the hearing began, I met the defense attorneys. It is strange, in a moment when I thought I'd have a lot of hostility...I found these people likable, polite and warm. We were all there to do a job, each with a different goal. One person was noticeably absent.
The Judge entered the courtroom and the hearing began. At first it was all about sentence structure in the context of written law. It was a head scratcher when opposing counsel opened a dictionary pressing on where a comma was or wasn't, in relation to written law vs. intention...and I thought to myself, "is THIS really what it all comes down to? A comma?"
Things were moving rapidly and after a brief statement by the defense, the tone of the courtroom shifted.
The judge erupted in anger and outrage. He spoke harshly towards the defense at their insinuation that TAMU nor Dr. Ashlee Watts was subject to responsibility for patients. Leaving no room for miscommunication of his discontent, he pointedly stated:
The judge then directed himself to my attorney. Repetitively, he implored her to appeal this case to a higher court. That this case was worthy of approaching state representatives in effort to close the loophole in the law. He then encouraged us to consider requesting a legislative waiver that would strip TAMU's & Ashlee Watts' governmental immunity from suit.
In that moment, someone had finally acknowledged the level of injustice
in a way that could not be ignored.
You could hear a pin drop in that courtroom.
My attorney and I walked out winners, no matter what a piece of paper said.
"in our community where there is a facility that treats every kind of animal imaginable,
the State would argue that if you want to be the worst veterinarian and never have any reason to worry about your liability, come work for us. That's what this invites."
-361st District Court Hearing, Judge Smith
All Brazos County District Court documents are public record.
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