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Grandparents and Other Third Parties
(Suit Affecting the Parent Child Relationship)

Challenging Standing

As has been stated previously, standing is a prerequisite to subject matter jurisdiction, which is essential to a court's power to decide a case. Bland Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Blue, 34 S.W.3d 547, 553 -554 (Tex. 2000); In re: Sullivan, 157 S.W.3d 911, 914 (Tex. App. -Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, orig. proceeding). Thus, in order to challenge the absence of subject-matter jurisdiction, a party must file a plea to the jurisdiction. Id. At 554. A plea to the jurisdiction is considered a dilatory plea, the purpose of which is to defeat the alleged claims, without regard to whether the claims have merit. Id. The purpose of a dilatory plea is not to force a plaintiff to preview its case on the merits, but to establish a reason why the merits of its case should never be reached. Id. The Texas Supreme Court has emphasized that a court should not decide standing issues based on the court's view of the merits: "In deciding a plea to the jurisdiction, a court may not weigh the claims' merits but must only consider the plaintiff's pleadings and the evidence pertinent to the jurisdictional inquiry. When we consider a trial court's order on a plea to the jurisdiction, we construe the pleadings in the plaintiff's favor and look to the pleader's intent." Id. at 554-555. A trial court accepts the factual allegations in the Petition as true, unless the defendant pleads and proves the allegations were made fraudulently to confer jurisdiction. Id. at 554; TAC Realty, Inc. v. City of Bryan, 126 S.W.3d 558, 561 (Tex. App. -Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, pet. denied). When reviewing a trial court's order on a plea to the jurisdiction, an appellate court may look to evidence outside of the pleadings. In re: Sullivan, 157 S.W.3d 911 (Tex. App. -Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, orig. proceeding). The issues raised by a dilatory plea are often such that they cannot be resolved without hearing evidence on the issues. Thus, the court should hear evidence as necessary to determine the issue raised by the plea. Id. at 914. The proper function of a dilatory plea, like a plea to the jurisdiction, does not authorize an inquiry into the substance of the claims presented, and the court should confine itself to the evidence relevant to the jurisdictional issue. Bland Indep. Sch. Dist., 34 S.W.3d 554-555.