CIVIL PRACTICE & REMEDIES CODE
SUBTITLE D. APPEALS
CHAPTER 51. APPEALS
SUBCHAPTER A. APPEALS FROM JUSTICE COURT
§ 51.001. APPEAL FROM JUSTICE COURT TO COUNTY OR
DISTRICT COURT. (a) In a case tried in justice court in which the
judgment or amount in controversy exceeds $20, exclusive of costs,
or in which the appeal is expressly provided by law, a party to a
final judgment may appeal to the county court.
(b) In a county in which the civil jurisdiction of the
county court has been transferred to the district court, a party to
a final judgment in a case covered by this section may appeal to the
district court.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 51.002. CERTIORARI FROM JUSTICE COURT. (a) After
final judgment in a case tried in justice court in which the
judgment or amount in controversy exceeds $20, exclusive of costs,
a person may remove the case from the justice court to the county
court by writ of certiorari.
(b) In a county in which the civil jurisdiction of the
county court has been transferred from the county court to the
district court, a person may remove a case covered by this section
from the justice court to the district court by writ of certiorari.
(c) If a writ of certiorari to remove a case is served on a
justice of the peace, the justice shall immediately make a
certified copy of the entries made on his docket and of the bill of
costs, as provided in cases of appeals, and shall immediately send
them and the original papers in the case to the clerk of the county
or district court, as appropriate.
(d) This section does not apply to a case of forcible entry
and detainer.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
SUBCHAPTER B. APPEALS FROM COUNTY OR DISTRICT COURT
§ 51.011. APPEAL FROM COUNTY OR DISTRICT COURT AFTER
CERTIORARI FROM JUSTICE COURT. If a county or district court hears
a case on certiorari from a justice court, a person may take an
appeal or writ of error from the judgment of the county or district
court. The appeal or writ of error is subject to the rules that
apply in a case appealed from a justice court.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 51.012. APPEAL OR WRIT OF ERROR TO COURT OF
APPEALS. In a civil case in which the judgment or amount in
controversy exceeds $100, exclusive of interest and costs, a person
may take an appeal or writ of error to the court of appeals from a
final judgment of the district or county court.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 51.013. TIME FOR TAKING WRIT OF ERROR TO COURT OF
APPEALS. In a case in which a writ of error to the court of appeals
is allowed, the writ of error may be taken at any time within six
months after the date the final judgment is rendered.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
§ 51.014. APPEAL FROM INTERLOCUTORY ORDER. (a) A
person may appeal from an interlocutory order of a district court,
county court at law, or county court that:
(1) appoints a receiver or trustee;
(2) overrules a motion to vacate an order that
appoints a receiver or trustee;
(3) certifies or refuses to certify a class in a suit
brought under Rule 42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
(4) grants or refuses a temporary injunction or grants
or overrules a motion to dissolve a temporary injunction as
provided by Chapter 65;
(5) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based
on an assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer or
employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state;
(6) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based
in whole or in part upon a claim against or defense by a member of
the electronic or print media, acting in such capacity, or a person
whose communication appears in or is published by the electronic or
print media, arising under the free speech or free press clause of
the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or Article
I, Section 8, of the Texas Constitution, or Chapter 73;
(7) grants or denies the special appearance of a
defendant under Rule 120a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, except
in a suit brought under the Family Code;
(8) grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a
governmental unit as that term is defined in Section 101.001;
(9) denies all or part of the relief sought by a motion
under Section 74.351(b), except that an appeal may not be taken from
an order granting an extension under Section 74.351; or
(10) grants relief sought by a motion under Section
74.351(l).
(b) An interlocutory appeal under Subsection (a), other
than an appeal under Subsection (a)(4), stays the commencement of a
trial in the trial court pending resolution of the appeal. An
interlocutory appeal under Subsection (a)(3), (5), or (8) also
stays all other proceedings in the trial court pending resolution
of that appeal.
(c) A denial of a motion for summary judgment, special
appearance, or plea to the jurisdiction described by Subsection
(a)(5), (7), or (8) is not subject to the automatic stay under
Subsection (b) unless the motion, special appearance, or plea to
the jurisdiction is filed and requested for submission or hearing
before the trial court not later than the later of:
(1) a date set by the trial court in a scheduling order
entered under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; or
(2) the 180th day after the date the defendant files:
(A) the original answer;
(B) the first other responsive pleading to the
plaintiff's petition; or
(C) if the plaintiff files an amended pleading
that alleges a new cause of action against the defendant and the
defendant is able to raise a defense to the new cause of action
under Subsection (a)(5), (7), or (8), the responsive pleading that
raises that defense.
(d) A district court may issue a written order for
interlocutory appeal in a civil action not otherwise appealable
under this section if:
(1) the parties agree that the order involves a
controlling question of law as to which there is a substantial
ground for difference of opinion;
(2) an immediate appeal from the order may materially
advance the ultimate termination of the litigation; and
(3) the parties agree to the order.
(e) An appeal under Subsection (d) does not stay proceedings
in the district court unless the parties agree and the district
court, the court of appeals, or a judge of the court of appeals
orders a stay of the proceedings.
(f) If application is made to the court of appeals that has
appellate jurisdiction over the action not later than the 10th day
after the date an interlocutory order under Subsection (d) is
entered, the appellate court may permit an appeal to be taken from
that order.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended
by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 167, § 3.10, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 915, § 1, eff. June 14, 1989; Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 855, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997,
75th Leg., ch. 1296, § 1, eff. June 20, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th
Leg., ch. 1389, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg.,
ch. 204, § 1.03, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 51.015. COSTS OF APPEAL. In the case of an appeal
brought pursuant to Section 51.014(6), if the order appealed from
is affirmed, the court of appeals shall order the appellant to pay
all costs and reasonable attorney fees of the appeal; otherwise,
each party shall be liable for and taxed its own costs of the
appeal.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 855, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
