Justice Court

judge at his desk

A lawsuit in Justice Court may be filed for any amount, up to and including $20,000.00, including attorney fees, but not including court costs. The lawsuit must involve disputes over money, services and/or personal property issues. The Justice Court can only award you money or personal property. It cannot, for example, order XYZ Car Repair to fix your car properly, nor can it order foreclosure on any real property.

If you are suing under specific statutes, such as the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) or the Texas Property Code (for security deposit return), you may be able to recover two or three times your actual damages. Therefore, your actual damages will have to be less than $10,000.00 or $6,666.00 respectively. Call this office if you have questions in regards to the amount of your damages.

As of 2018, the cost of filing a suit is approximately $124.00. Check with the Clerk of the Justice Court for the costs to file suit and service of the lawsuit, either by Constable or Private Process Server.

Instructions and Information for Filing Justice Court Suits

(Except Eviction Suits and Debt Claims of Certain Financial Institutions and Debt Collectors, as these types of suits are governed by separate sets of rules)

Most Justice Courts require a written demand to the opposing party before you can file suit (called “conditions precedent”).  Some Courts require the green card from the Certified Mail demand letter you mailed return receipt requested. Check with the Court’s clerk to see if this is needed.  If you do not do this, the Court may abate (or delay) your case and require that a written demand be made before the case can proceed.  You may want to contact the Firm about this, as many times a letter can be written on your behalf.

DTPA cases have certain pre-suit demand requirements, so before a suit under the DTPA is considered, please contact this office for more information.