## Facts

- Allen Hart and Ernie Williams worked as deputies in the Wichita County Sheriff’s Department.
- They reported to a district attorney investigator and an FBI agent that they believed the sheriff had violated the law.
- Shortly after the investigator spoke with the sheriff, the sheriff terminated Hart and then Williams.
- Hart and Williams sued Wichita County under the Texas Whistleblower Act, alleging retaliatory discharge for reporting suspected illegal conduct.
- They filed suit in Travis County under the Whistleblower Act’s venue language allowing suit either where the alleged violation occurred or in Travis County.
- Wichita County moved to transfer venue to Wichita County under the Civil Practice and Remedies Code’s mandatory county-venue statute for suits against counties; the trial court denied the motion.
- A jury found for Hart and Williams under a charge defining “good faith” essentially as “honesty in fact,” and judgment was entered for the plaintiffs; the court of appeals affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether the Whistleblower Act’s permissive venue provision allows suit against a county in Travis County, or whether the mandatory county-venue statute requires suit in the defendant county.
2. What definition of “good faith” must be used in a Whistleblower Act jury charge.

## Decision

- The Texas Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial.
- The Court held venue for a whistleblower suit against a county is mandatory in the county being sued; the trial court erred by denying the motion to transfer.
- The Court stated that on retrial “good faith” requires both (1) the employee’s actual belief that the reported conduct was illegal and (2) an objectively reasonable basis for that belief in light of the employee’s training and experience.

## Legal Principles

- When a plaintiff relies on a permissive venue statute and a defendant establishes a mandatory venue provision, the trial court must transfer venue.
- The Whistleblower Act’s “may be brought” venue language is permissive and does not override the mandatory county-venue statute absent clear legislative intent.
- Erroneous denial of a meritorious motion to transfer based on mandatory venue requires reversal and remand for a new trial.
- “Good faith” under the Texas Whistleblower Act has two components: (1) subjective belief the conduct reported violates law and (2) objective reasonableness of that belief under the circumstances, including the employee’s training and experience.

## Conclusion

The Texas Supreme Court required transfer of whistleblower suits against counties to the defendant county under mandatory venue law and directed that “good faith” under the Whistleblower Act be submitted to the jury as a mixed subjective–objective standard, not merely “honesty in fact” or a motive-based inquiry.


Wichita Cnty. v. Hart, 917 S.W.2d 779 (Tex. 1996)