Breach of Agreement - Small Claims court jurisdiction

[AJLandlord]

Jurisdiction

Texas

I have filed a small claims case against my former tenants for breach of lease. The tenants signed a 12 month lease and ended up leaving after 4 months with no notice except for an email on the day they were leaving. The rental property that they executed the lease on is located in Collin county, Texas. I have been able to trace the tenants to another state (TN) and got them served by the local county sherrifs office. The tenant responded back to the court requesting a motion for dismissal as they are now residents of Tennessee.

I wanted to find out if their motion has any legal grounds in Texas. I researched the statutes and found the one I believe applies to this situation. Civil Practice & Remedies code Chapter 15, Sec. 15.0115 states 'LANDLORD-TENANT. (a) Except as provided by another statute prescribing mandatory venue, a suit between a landlord and a tenant arising under a lease shall be brought in the county in which all or a part of the real property is located.
(b) In this section, "lease" means any written or oral agreement between a landlord and a tenant that establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, or other provisions relating to the use and occupancy of the real property that is the subject of the agreement.' Does this statute give me enough grounds in small claims court to not only deny their motion but also get a judgement if they don't show up? Thank you for your assistance!

 

[zddoodah]

You haven't told us the legal basis of the tenants' motion, but I think it's probably a frivolous motion. The notion that a Texas court can exercise personal jurisdiction only over residents of Texas is patently silly. That said, many states have rules that drastically limit the extent to which a small claims court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident. I assume the rule you cited is applicable to civil actions in general, but you should research rules that are specifically applicable in small claims court (which is apparently called "justice court")..

Does this statute give me enough grounds in small claims court to . . . get a judgement if they don't show up?

The statute you cited has nothing to do with defaults or default judgments. However, if the court denies the motion to dismiss and the defendants don't show up for trial and you prove your case, chances are you'll get a judgment. Whether you'll have any reasonable chance of enforcing that judgment against deadbeat tenants who have moved to a different state hundreds of miles away is, of course, an entirely different issue.

 

[AJLandlord]

You haven't told us the legal basis of the tenants' motion, but I think it's probably a frivolous motion. The notion that a Texas court can exercise personal jurisdiction only over residents of Texas is patently silly. That said, many states have rules that drastically limit the extent to which a small claims court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident. I assume the rule you cited is applicable to civil actions in general, but you should research rules that are specifically applicable in small claims court (which is apparently called "justice court")..



The statute you cited has nothing to do with defaults or default judgments. However, if the court denies the motion to dismiss and the defendants don't show up for trial and you prove your case, chances are you'll get a judgment. Whether you'll have any reasonable chance of enforcing that judgment against deadbeat tenants who have moved to a different state hundreds of miles away is, of course, an entirely different issue.

Thank you for your response...I appreciate the insight. The tenants filed a motion of dismissal due to lack of jurisdiction as they are now residents of TN. I have tried to find information about rules for out of state suits in Justice courts in Texas but am having trouble finding specific information that deals with out of state defendants. That's how I came across the statute I quoted. You don't think that the Justice court would accept that statute to deny their motion to dismiss? Thanks!

 

[army judge]

Texas, Tennessee, and Florida are very debtor friendly states.

Your tenants could also file bankruptcy, if things are that tough for them.

Even if they don't, the expectation of ever collecting your judgment is very low.

 

[AJLandlord]

Texas, Tennessee, and Florida are very debtor friendly states.

Your tenants could also file bankruptcy, if things are that tough for them.

Even if they don't, the expectation of ever collecting your judgment is very low.

I am going in with my expectations very low not expecting to recover the money. However, the tenant left a real bad taste in my mouth with how he dealt with the situation. I was willing to work with him and let him out of the lease with a very small financial penalty . He promised me additional amount in return for being able to get out of the lease but then blocked my number and did not respond to my emails.

My goal is to make sure that they do not do this to anyone else and are held accountable for their actions. That being said, do you believe that the justice court in Texas can have jurisdiction over this case as the rental property is located in the county where I filed the case?

 

[mightymoose]

Your filing of the matter is correct. The question is whether the court has the authority to compel the tenant to appear.
I suspect you will probably end up with a default judgment when this is all over with.

 

[zddoodah]

I have tried to find information about rules for out of state suits in Justice courts in Texas but am having trouble finding specific information that deals with out of state defendants.

Did you click on the link I provided? In the first paragraph under the "Civil Suits" heading, it states as follows: "Part V of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure cover the Rules of Practice in Justice Court." If you click the hyperlinked part, it takes you to Part V. Scroll down and read Rule 5.204.

My goal is to make sure that they do not do this to anyone else and are held accountable for their actions.

As far as the tenants being "held accountable," you probably can get a judgment and, as noted, your chances of enforcing the judgment are probably very low. As low as those chances are, however, you have zero chance of "mak[ing] sure that they do not do this to anyone else," and that should not be a goal of yours.

That being said, do you believe that the justice court in Texas can have jurisdiction over this case as the rental property is located in the county where I filed the case?

Yes.

 

[army judge]

That being said, do you believe that the justice court in Texas can have jurisdiction over this case as the rental property is located in the county where I filed the case?

Of course a Texas JP court has jurisdiction in landlord-tenant matters.
Your problem is that a Texas JP Court has no jurisdiction over a resident of another state.
Even a district court creates a problem for attorneys litigating civil matters, because serving a resident outside the state of Texas isn't easy.

However, your tenant may have solved that for you by filing the motion to dismiss.
If the dismissal motion isn't properly addressed and limited in scope, your tenant may have unwittingly submitted to the Texas court's jurisdiction.

This may help you, if you haven't already read it:

http://www.jtexconsumerlaw.com/V17N1/V17N1_SmallClaims.pdf

http://www.co.guadalupe.tx.us/jp2/pdfs/rules_for_jp_courts.pdf

The defendant's motion must be very narrow and specific to attack jurisdiction and Texas' long arm statute, and is done under Special Appearance Procedure Under Rule 120a (CRP).

This article explains what your guy was trying to do, on which the JP will rule.


http://www.yettercoleman.com/wp-con...earance-Reagan-Simpson-and-Rebecca-Phelps.pdf

 

[adjusterjack]

The tenants filed a motion of dismissal due to lack of jurisdiction as they are now residents of TN.

Please understand that motions often get granted if they are unopposed. You are going to have to properly file a response giving the court appropriate reasons why it shouldn't grant the defendant's motion.