HBA-MSH, CMT H.B. 284 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 284
By: King, Phil
Civil Practices
3/11/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a defendant in a justice or small claims court has only 10 days
to file an answer before a default judgment can be taken against the
defendant.  Many of these court citations are served by mail and can take
some time to reach the defendant, leaving inadequate time for a defendant
to respond.  House Bill 284 requires a defendant to file an answer to a
citation by the 20th day after the date of service of a citation before a
default judgment may be taken. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 284 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to require that
a defendant served with a citation issued in a justice or small claims
court file a written answer to the plaintiff's petition or statement of the
claim before 10 a.m. on the Monday after the 20th day after the date of
service of citation.  The bill sets forth the content of the citation
issued in a justice or small claims court. 
The provisions of this bill do not apply to a forcible detainer action.
The bill also provides that notwithstanding the supreme court's authority
to promulgate the rules of civil procedure, the supreme court is prohibited
from amending or adopting rules in conflict with the provisions of this
bill. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.