Wichita County courts at law get new jurisdiction rules

The text as introduced · 483 words

89R4975 BCH-F

By: Frank
H.B. No. 3718

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the jurisdiction of the county courts at law in Wichita

County.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 25.2452(b), (c), (d), and (e),

Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) All misdemeanor cases, probate and mental health

matters, proceedings under the Estates Code, and appeals from

municipal courts of record shall be filed in the county court at

law. A county court at law may transfer a case or an appeal

described by this subsection to the county court with the consent of

the county judge.

(c) Except as provided by Section 25.0003 and Subsection

(d), a county court at law has concurrent jurisdiction with the

district court in:

(1) family law cases and proceedings under the Family

Code; [ and ]

(2) civil cases in which the amount in controversy

exceeds $500 but does not exceed $200,000, excluding interest,

exemplary damages, penalties, attorney's fees, and court costs; and

(3) appeals from the justice courts .

(d) A county court at law does not have jurisdiction of:

(1) a case under:

(A) the Alcoholic Beverage Code;

(B) the Election Code; or

(C) the Tax Code; or

(2) a matter over which the district court has

exclusive jurisdiction[ ; or

[ (3) a civil case, other than a case under the Family

Code or the Estates Code, in which the amount in controversy is:

[ (A) less than the maximum amount in controversy

allowed the justice court in Wichita County; or

[ (B) more than $200,000, exclusive of punitive or

exemplary damages, penalties, interest, costs, and attorney's

fees ].

(e) On the motion of any party, a county court at law may

transfer a civil case originally filed in a county court at law that

exceeds the maximum amount in controversy described by Subsection

(c)(2) [ (d)(3)(B) ] to the district court in Wichita County, except

that an announcement of ready for trial by all parties before a

motion to transfer the case to the district court is filed confers

original jurisdiction on the county court at law. A case that is

transferred to the district court shall be completed under the same

cause number and in the same manner as if the case were originally

filed in the district court.

SECTION 2. Section 25.2452, Government Code, as amended by

this Act, applies only to an action filed in a county court at law in

Wichita County on or after the effective date of this Act. An

action filed in a county court at law in Wichita County before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the action was filed, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.