To file a lawsuit against a company in Texas, you file a written “original petition” in the correct civil court, pay the filing fee, and have the company formally served with the petition and citation. From there the case moves through the company’s written answer, a discovery phase, and either settlement or trial. Before any of that, confirm you’re still inside the statute of limitations, because a late filing ends the case before it starts.
Confirm You Are Still Within the Deadline
Texas gives you a fixed window to sue, measured from the date of harm (or, in some cases, the date you discovered it). Common deadlines:
- Personal injury or property damage: two years.
- Breach of contract: four years.
- Fraud: four years.
- Debt claims: four years.
The four-year window also covers breach of fiduciary duty and suits to enforce a contract for the sale of real property.1State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code – Section 16.004 If your deadline is close, file the petition first and refine the details later. An imperfect petition filed on time beats a polished one filed a day late.
Identify the Company You Are Suing
You need the company’s exact legal name and entity type. A business often operates under a trade name that differs from the name on its formation documents, and suing the wrong entity can cost months. Search the Texas Secretary of State’s SOSDirect database for the legal name, entity type, and registered agent.2Office of the Texas Secretary of State. SOSDirect – An Online Business Service The registered agent is the person or entity authorized to accept legal documents for the company,3Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Registered Agents and you’ll need their name and address to serve the lawsuit.
Pull together your evidence at the same time: contracts, emails, texts, invoices, photos, receipts, and the names of any witnesses. Organize them by date. If the claim involves a defective product or damaged item, preserve it. Courts look unfavorably on parties who let evidence disappear.
Send a Demand Letter Before You File
A demand letter isn’t required for most claims, but a clear letter explaining what the company did, what it cost you, and what you want often produces a faster resolution than a lawsuit.
For claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, written notice is mandatory. You must send the company a detailed notice at least 60 days before filing suit, spelling out your specific complaint and the amounts you’re claiming for economic damages and mental anguish.4State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code – Chapter 17 Skipping the notice lets the company pause the case until you comply. The only exception is when waiting 60 days would push you past the statute of limitations.
Choose the Right Court and County
Texas has three tiers of trial courts, and the amount in dispute decides where the case belongs:
- Justice courts handle civil claims up to $20,000, including small claims. Procedures are simplified for people representing themselves.5Texas State Law Library. Small Claims Cases – General Information
- County courts at law handle mid-level disputes, generally overlapping with justice courts on the low end and reaching up to $200,000 or more depending on the county.
- District courts are the general trial courts for larger or more complex cases, with no upper dollar limit.
Venue matters too. Texas rules generally require you to file where a substantial part of the events occurred, where the company’s principal office sits, or, if you’re suing an individual, where the defendant lived when the claim arose.6State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code – Section 15.002 Filing in the wrong county doesn’t kill the case, but the company can move to transfer it, which delays things.
File the Original Petition
The lawsuit starts when you file an original petition with the court clerk. The petition doesn’t need to be long, but it must include four things: the names of all parties, a short statement of the facts, the legal basis for the company’s liability, and what you want the court to award. If you seek monetary relief of $250,000 or less, the case falls under the expedited actions process, which imposes tighter timelines and discovery limits.
You’ll pay a filing fee that varies by court level. Justice court fees are modest; district court fees run higher. If you can’t afford the fee, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, a form approved by the Texas Supreme Court.7Texas Judicial Branch. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs It asks for income, assets, and monthly expenses. Attach proof if you receive SNAP, Medicaid, or similar benefits. The court can waive fees if you genuinely cannot pay.
Serve the Company
After the clerk issues a citation, you must deliver copies of the citation and petition to the company. The court can’t move the case forward until service is properly completed. Texas allows two standard methods: hand delivery by a sheriff, constable, or authorized private process server, and certified mail with return receipt requested.8Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Service of Process For a company, you typically serve the registered agent listed with the Secretary of State. If the company has no registered agent on file or the agent can’t be found, the Secretary of State can sometimes accept service on the company’s behalf.
This step is where cases stall. Verify the registered agent’s name and address in SOSDirect before your process server goes out. Papers delivered to the wrong person or wrong address let the company challenge service and reset the clock.
What the Company Must Do Next
Once served, the company must file a written answer with the court. In county and district courts, the deadline is 10:00 a.m. on the first Monday that falls more than 20 full days after service, not counting the day of service itself.9South Texas College of Law. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 101 Justice courts use a shorter timeline.
If the company misses the deadline and files nothing, you can ask the court for a default judgment. Defaults aren’t automatic. You still have to present enough evidence to support your damages, and the court can set the default aside if the company later shows up with a reasonable excuse.
Discovery
Once the initial pleadings are in, discovery begins. This is the formal exchange of information between the parties, and it’s often the longest phase of the case. Texas allows several tools:10Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
- Interrogatories, written questions the other side answers under oath.
- Requests for production of documents, records, or tangible items.
- Requests for admission, which narrow the issues by forcing admissions or denials.
- Depositions, live sworn testimony recorded by a court reporter.
- Requests for disclosure, a streamlined ask for witnesses, insurance coverage, and damage calculations.
How much discovery you get depends on your case’s control plan level. Level 1 applies to expedited actions where claimants seek $250,000 or less and caps discovery to keep it proportional to the stakes.11South Texas College of Law Houston. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 190.3 Level 2 is the default. Level 3, which removes most limits, requires a court order and is reserved for complex litigation. A straightforward contract case may finish discovery in a few months; a complicated fraud or injury case can stretch past a year.
Some claims require expert testimony. Medical malpractice, product liability, and engineering defect cases almost always need an expert to explain what went wrong. Experts are expensive, but without one the court may find your evidence insufficient. Budget for this early if your case involves technical or scientific questions.
Mediation, Settlement, and Trial
Most Texas civil cases never reach a jury. Courts actively push settlement, and many judges will order the parties into mediation before letting the case go to trial.12Texas Judicial Branch. First Court of Appeals – Mediation Alternate Dispute Resolution A neutral mediator works with both sides to negotiate a resolution, and nothing said in mediation is admissible later. Settlement can happen at any point, from the week after filing to the morning of trial.
If the case doesn’t settle, it goes to trial. Either side can request a jury by paying a small fee and filing the request on time; otherwise the judge decides. Pre-trial motions typically address evidentiary disputes, witness challenges, or requests to dismiss parts of the case. The trial itself runs through opening statements, witness testimony and cross-examination, and closing arguments, ending in a verdict.
Collecting If You Win
A judgment on paper is not money in your account. Many companies don’t voluntarily pay after losing, so plan to use the court’s enforcement tools:
- Writ of execution: a constable or sheriff seizes and sells the company’s non-exempt property, and the proceeds go toward your judgment.13Texas State Law Library. Small Claims Cases – Writ of Execution
- Writ of garnishment: reaches the company’s bank accounts or third parties who owe it money.
- Judgment lien: attaches to the company’s real property, so your judgment gets paid when the property sells.
A judgment lien on real property lasts 10 years from the date you record the abstract of judgment, provided the judgment doesn’t go dormant.14State of Texas. Texas Property Code – Section 52.006 A judgment becomes dormant if no writ of execution issues within 10 years after the court entered it, and reviving a dormant judgment adds delay.15State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code – Section 34.001 Once you have a judgment, start enforcement promptly.
If Either Side Appeals
Either party can appeal the outcome. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the judge signs the final judgment, extended to 90 days if any party files a motion for new trial, a motion to modify the judgment, or a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law.16Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure Missing the appeal deadline is almost always fatal, so calendar it the day the judgment is signed. An appeal is not a second trial; the appellate court reviews the trial court’s legal rulings and generally won’t re-weigh evidence or reassess witness credibility.
What You Owe in Taxes on the Recovery
How the IRS treats what you recover depends on the type of claim. Damages for personal physical injuries or physical sickness are generally excluded from taxable income under federal law,17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness which typically covers medical expenses, pain and suffering, and emotional distress tied to the physical injury.
Other recoveries are taxable. Punitive damages are fully taxable no matter the underlying claim. Lost wages are taxed as ordinary income. Emotional distress damages not connected to a physical injury are taxable, though you can offset them by what you actually paid for related medical care. Interest on delayed payments is taxable. When a settlement mixes these categories, how the agreement allocates the money matters. Get the allocation right during negotiation; reclassifying it later is much harder.