In accordance with a law passed last legislative session (82nd Session, 2011), the Texas Supreme Court on February 12, 2013, adopted a Miscellaneous Order (No. 13-9023) that ABOLISHES the Small Claims Court as of May 1, 2013, and REPEALS a broad swath of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 523-591 and 737-755) and a statute from the Texas Property Code (Section 92. 0563(d)).
The repealed Rules are replaced by newly-adopted Rules 500-510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which will govern cases filed on or after May 1, 2013, as well as cases pending on that day.
The legislation mandating the changes, HB 79, had far-reaching implications on the judiciary, and has been called a "major court reorganization bill." Only a small -- yet very important -- part of the new law impacts landlord-tenant lawsuits in the Texas justice courts.
Of particular importance to this blog are the new rules governing eviction proceedings (Rules 500-507 and 510) and those governing "repair and remedy cases" in which a tenant alleges that a landlord has failed to repair a condition required by Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code (Rules 500-507 and 509).
When time permits, I will post detailed explanations of the new Rules, and how they are different from the soon-to-be-abolished Rules governing eviction cases until April 31, 2013.
