Earlier this summer, House Bill 19 was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott. As a result, the Texas Business Courts will become the newest part of the judicial system of Texas on September 1, 2024.

The Texas Business Courts will be trial level courts with limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving corporate governance claims of more than $5 million or corporate transactional claims of more than $10 million. Judges for the Courts will be appointed by Governor Abbott and must have career experience in complex corporate issues that the Courts are likely to see.

Because most cases in Texas courts do not involve such large amounts, the Texas Business Courts will first appear in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The areas covered by each court are identical to those of the current Texas Appellate Courts, meaning there are 13 different regions in Texas. Less urban parts of the state are expected to have a corresponding Business Court by 2026.

The most likely and intended impact of this new creation will be a decreased strain on the current trial courts. Large scale litigation that will soon be diverted to the Texas Business Courts often takes years to go through discovery and pretrial matters before eventually culminating in a trial that could take weeks. This will be welcomed by attorneys and clients alike, as district courts in major metropolitan areas of Texas are currently overwhelmed with heavy caseloads.

Additionally, cases that will be given to the Texas Business Courts are much more likely to have judges with expertise in corporate matters. Ideally, this allows the new more specified courts to bear the burden of dealing with extraordinarily complicated corporate cases instead of the current judges already potentially dealing with a backlogged docket.

If you are involved in litigation or expect to be in the future, the new Texas Business Courts may make your life easier in one way or another.

When you do have to go to court, it is important to have on your side a team of lawyers with a concrete plan for your recovery. Waldron & Schneider’s team of litigation attorneys pride themselves on zealously advocating for the needs of every client. Any matter worth going to court over is too important for you to pass up the opportunity to have Waldron & Schneider work for you.

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