What Happens If I Get Served With a Lawsuit in Texas?

The deadline that matters most

The citation tells you the deadline in its own words. Under Tex. R. Civ. P. 99, the defendant must file a written answer with the clerk by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next following the expiration of 20 days after service. Count 20 full days starting the day after service, then go to the next Monday. If that Monday is a legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

The same rule requires the citation to warn you that a default judgment may be taken if you do not answer, and that you may be required to make initial disclosures, generally within 30 days after you file your answer.

This article is about the answer deadline and the first weeks. The full arc of a case is laid out in the stages of a commercial lawsuit in Texas.

How a business gets served

A corporation, LLC or partnership is normally served through its registered agent, the person or company named in its filings with the Secretary of State. Service can also be made on an officer or other authorized person. The practical point is that the 20 days run from service on the agent, not from the day the papers reach the owner. If your registered agent is a service company, check how quickly it forwards legal mail.

Rule 106 sets the methods: personal delivery, or registered or certified mail with return receipt, and substituted service by court order when those fail. Rule 107 requires the return of service to be on file for ten days before a default judgment can be taken. A defendant who was never properly served has a defense, but it is a defense that has to be raised, not ignored.

What happens if you do not answer

Under Rule 239 the plaintiff may take a default judgment at any time after the answer date has passed with no answer on file. On a claim for a sum certain, the court can enter judgment for the full amount without a hearing; on other claims the plaintiff proves damages to the judge. Either way you lose the right to contest liability. Undoing a default is possible but costly and uncertain; setting aside a default judgment in Texas explains the motion for new trial and bill of review routes.

What an answer is, and what it is not

In Texas a general denial under Rule 92 is enough to prevent a default. It puts the plaintiff to its proof on every element. An answer may also raise affirmative defenses under Rule 94 (limitations, waiver, release, payment and others), verified denials under Rule 93 (for example, that the defendant is not liable in the capacity sued) and a counterclaim under Rule 97.

Some objections must come first or be lost:

• A special appearance under Rule 120a, contesting the court's personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant, must be filed before any other plea.
• A motion to transfer venue under Rule 86 is waived unless filed before or with the first pleading other than a special appearance. Venue rules in Texas explains when the county can be challenged.
• A notice of removal to federal court, where federal jurisdiction exists, must be filed within 30 days after the defendant receives the initial pleading (28 U.S.C. § 1446).

An answer that includes a compulsory counterclaim, or that fails to, also has consequences later. Should your business file a counterclaim covers that choice.

What follows the answer

Within 30 days after the first answer or appearance, each party must serve initial disclosures under Rule 194.2 without being asked: the legal theories and factual bases of its claims or defenses, a computation of economic damages, the people with knowledge of relevant facts, the documents it may use, insurance agreements and more. The discovery period then opens. The first petition also states the discovery level and the damages range under Rules 47 and 190, which tells you how much discovery the plaintiff expects.

What to do now, and what not to do

• Calendar the answer date from the date of service shown on the return, and treat it as fixed.
• Preserve everything. Suspend auto-delete on email and messaging, and keep the devices of the people involved. Deleting records after suit is filed invites sanctions for spoliation.
• Notify your insurer. Many commercial policies require prompt notice of a claim and may cover the defense.
• Do not contact the plaintiff directly to argue the merits, and do not post about the case.
• Do not assume a weak petition will go away. A thin pleading can still support a default.
• Get the petition to a litigator early enough to evaluate jurisdiction, venue, removal and a Rule 91a motion before the first filing fixes your position.

Example

Suppose a Dallas staffing company's registered agent receives a citation on a Wednesday. Twenty days expire on a Tuesday; the answer is due by 10:00 a.m. on the following Monday. The petition claims unpaid fees under a contract signed in Collin County and pleads damages over $250,000, placing the case in Level 2 discovery. Before answering, counsel checks whether venue is proper in Dallas County, whether the plaintiff is a citizen of another state so the case could be removed on diversity, and whether a counterclaim for the plaintiff's own breach arises from the same contract and must be pleaded now. The answer filed is a general denial with a venue motion filed alongside it, and initial disclosures are calendared 30 days out.

Federal court: a different clock

If the suit was filed in federal court, Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 gives 21 days after service to answer or move, or 60 days if the defendant waived formal service. The same preservation and insurance steps apply. State or federal court explains how a case ends up in each.

Tina Wysk defends Dallas businesses in state and federal court and reviews a newly served petition for jurisdiction, venue, removal and early dismissal before the answer is filed.