On September 1, 2024, the Texas Business Courts began accepting cases. The stated purpose of the Business Courts is to give businesses confidence in the Texas’ legal system and encourage them to incorporate and headquarter in Texas. To that end, the Business Courts were designed to provide a venue for large commercial disputes presided over by judges with specialized judicial or litigation experience in complex commercial matters.

In order to file a case in Business Court (or remove a case filed in District Court to the Business Court), it must meet one of the following requirements:

(1) The amount in controversy is greater than $5 million or a party to the case is a publicly traded company, and the case involves:

• a derivative proceeding;
• claims involving a business’s governance, governing documents, or internal affairs;
• claims brought under state or federal trade or securities laws;
• claims by a business or its owners against management or other insiders;
• veil-piercing and similar claims; or
• claims arising under the Texas Business Organizations Code.

(2) The amount in controversy is greater than $5 million and the case involves:

• claims arising from transactions or series of related transactions of at least $5 million (other than certain loans by financial institutions);
• claims arising from contractual or commercial transactions in which the parties agreed to jurisdiction in the Business Courts (excluding insurance contracts);
• claims involving violations of the Texas Finance Code or Texas Business and Commerce Code; or
• claims involving intellectual property disputes, including those involving patents, trade secrets, software, data security, and biotechnology.

(3) The action is to enforce an arbitration agreement, appoint an arbitrator, review an arbitral award, or in other judicial actions authorized by arbitration agreements or statute and a claim included in the controversy in arbitration otherwise qualifies for Business Court jurisdiction.

Business Court judges are appointed (and may be re-appointed) by the Governor for two-year terms. District Court judges are elected for four-year terms. Business Court judges should have fewer cases on their dockets and cases could potentially proceed to trial relatively quickly, but prospective litigants should consider the risk that their case may be passed off to a new judge as a result of the presiding judge’s two-year term.

To qualify as a Business Court judge, an individual must be an attorney with at least 10 years’ experience in complex civil business litigation, business transaction law, serving as a judge in a Texas court with civil jurisdiction, or a combination of this experience. There is no corresponding qualification for District Court judges.

Filing fees in District Court typically range between $200 and $400 to file a lawsuit and generally there are no fees to file motions. In Business Courts, there is a $2,500 fee to file a lawsuit and a $50 filing fee for all motions.

Business Courts must provide a written opinion (1) when ruling on an issue important to Texas jurisprudence, and (2) upon the request of any party when ruling on a dispositive motion. There is no corresponding obligation for District Courts. This requirement for written opinions will provide litigants with additional guidance on Texas law for complex commercial issues.

The newly-created Fifteenth Court of Appeals is a statewide appellate court that has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over, among other cases, appeals from an order or judgment of the Texas Business Courts. Most cases from the District Courts will continue to be appealed to one of fourteen appellate courts with each deciding appeals for certain designated counties in a particular region of the state.

Parties have a right to a jury trial and the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure apply in both Business Courts and District Courts.

Currently, the Business Courts are located in Dallas (1st Division), Austin (3rd Division), San Antonio (4th Division), Fort Worth (8th Division), and Houston (11th Division).

The Business Court will eventually be divided into eleven divisions. The five divisions listed above are already active with two judges appointed in each division, but the remaining divisions of the Business Court will not have judges appointed until at least July 1, 2026.

Alex Brauer (abrauer@baileybrauer.com / 214-360-7432); or

Jared Wilkinson (jwilkinson@baileybrauer.com / 214-360-7434