Legal Question in Business Law in Texas

Re: Collect travel expenses for suing out of state?

There are many different elements that determine where a suit can be filed. Where you signed the contract, where the contract was to be performed, and many other factors. If you signed the contract in California than you can file a lawsuit in your own county. If the other company protests jurisdiction they have to file a motion and prove that the proper jurisdiction is in Texas. If that is granted and the case is moved to Texas and you win then you can collect travel expenses and attorney's fees and costs. I would file the lawsuit in your county, but instead of small claims I would file in Municipal Court. This costs a little more money, but your limit on damages is $25,000 instead of $5,000. How did the company breach the contract? Do you suspect fraud in the breach? If so, you may be entitled to punitive damages on top of everything else. Usually if an attorney gets invovled a case can be settled without having to go to court since the company knows your serious. If you would like additional information or help filing a lawsuit please feel free to call me. I can be reached at 888-563-8529. The call and consultation are free. I look forward to speaking with you.

John Hayes

Re: Collect travel expenses for suing out of state?

Whether or not you can recover travel expenses

if you go to Texas for a small claims action really

depends on Texas law. If the action were filed

in California, normally such expenses would not

be allowed.

However, before deciding to file in Texas, you

should look more carefully at the possibility of

securing small claims court jurisdiction over the

Texas company here in California. California

statutes and case law are fairly liberal in terms

of granting jurisdiction over foreign companies

that do business in California. A lot would

depend on the type of business entity, the nature

of the contract, and the scope of the Texas

company's "business presence" in California.

Feel free to contact me with additional information

about the transaction and the company in

question. I'd be happy to take a quick look.

The foregoing information is provided as an

accommodation only, and does not constitute legal

advice or a legal opinion based on a comprehensive

review of all relevant facts, nor can provision of

such information be construed as creating an

attorney-client relationship.