Reported / Citable
Background
The City of Dallas owns Fair Park and leases it to the State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit corporation that operates the annual exposition. In February 2024, the State Fair adopted a policy prohibiting patrons from carrying firearms on the fairgrounds. After receiving complaints, the Texas Attorney General notified the City that the policy violated Texas Government Code Section 411.209, which restricts state agencies and political subdivisions from posting or giving notice that licensed handgun carriers may not enter government-owned or government-leased property.
The State and three individual plaintiffs sued the City, its city manager, and the State Fair for declaratory and injunctive relief. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court ruled for the defendants, excluded certain evidence offered by the plaintiffs, and dismissed the claims with prejudice. On appeal, the plaintiffs pursued only their Section 411.209 claims against the City and the State Fair, thereby waiving challenges to the dismissal of their constitutional and other claims, including all claims against the city manager.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that governmental immunity barred the Section 411.209 claim against the City because the statute waives immunity only to the extent it creates liability, and the record did not show that the City took any prohibited action. The State Fair adopted the handgun policy independently; the lease was silent about licensed handgun carriers; and the City’s failure to stop the State Fair did not constitute an action, tacit ratification, or adoption of the policy.
The court also held that Section 411.209 regulates conduct by state agencies and political subdivisions, not private entities such as the State Fair. The statute therefore did not provide the State or the individual plaintiffs a claim against the State Fair for implementing its own policy. The court further upheld the exclusion of a City letter concerning peace officers because it did not bear on whether the City prohibited licensed handgun carriers from entering Fair Park.
Key Takeaways
- Section 411.209 prohibits specified conduct by governmental entities; it does not impose a firearm-access restriction that automatically follows government-owned property into a private lessee’s hands.
- A city’s silence, continued lease, or failure to restrain a private lessee does not by itself establish that the city took action or ratified the lessee’s handgun policy.
- The court addressed only the Section 411.209 claims preserved on appeal; it did not decide the merits of the plaintiffs’ Texas constitutional right-to-bear-arms claim.
Why It Matters
The decision limits Section 411.209 claims involving government property operated by private entities. To overcome governmental immunity, a plaintiff must identify prohibited conduct attributable to the governmental entity itself, rather than relying solely on a private lessee’s policy or the government’s failure to intervene.
The ruling also confirms that Section 411.209 does not directly regulate private entities merely because they lease public property. Its reach turns on who took the challenged action, not simply who owns the premises.