Esther Johnson and Reuben Johnson, acting in their individual capacities and as next friends of Ansley Bogney, a minor, and as representatives of the Estate of Stephanie Lyon, sued Liberty County and Liberty County Sheriff's Department for negligence and gross negligence. Their petition alleged that Stephanie Lyon drove to the fairgrounds where her husband, Billy Marcus Lyon, was engaged in a work release program, that Billy Marcus Lyon escaped from custody and rode with Stephanie Lyon to a distant location, where he shot and killed her. The Johnsons alleged that the defendants' negligent conduct in supervising inmates and county employees proximately caused the death of Stephanie Lyon. Liberty County and Liberty County Sheriff's Department filed a motion for summary judgment, no-evidence motion for summary judgment, and plea to the jurisdiction. The motion alleged that the plaintiffs failed to meet the notice requirements of the Tort Claims Act, asserted sovereign immunity, and argued that a claim against the Sheriff's Department could not be maintained because the department is a subdivision of the county and not a distinct legal entity. The trial court granted the plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed the case. The plaintiffs filed notice of appeal.

A clerk's record and a reporter's record were duly filed in the appellate record. The appeal was submitted without briefs after the appellants failed to file their brief by the March 10, 2004 due date for their final extension. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.8(a)(2). The appellants did not request any more extensions and never filed a brief. See Tex. R. App. P. 38.6(d). On April 5, 2004, we notified the parties that the appeal would be advanced without oral argument. See Tex. R. App. P. 39.9.

We have reviewed the record pertaining to the plea to the jurisdiction for fundamental error, and find none. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM

Submitted on April 26, 2004

Opinion Delivered May 6, 2004

Before McKeithen, C.J., Burgess and Gaultney, JJ.

1.Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.