Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

In 1998 I got married and bought a home. In 2003 she left and never came back. I tried to get her to agree to sell the house and get a divorce but she would not cooperate. Finally in 2007 I filed for a divorce and was going to refinance and pay her for her equity. She would not agree and insisted on getting the house. The judge gave her 60 days to get the loan. She finally did get the loan and paid me my equity. I signed all of the documents, move out and gave her the keys July 2008. She still wouldn't sign the divorce decree because she claimed there was other community property but the judge did not agree and granted the divorce Oct 2008.

I have been in the real estate business since 2001. In March 2010 she has filed a suit in small claims court for $10,000 stating that I am a licensed texas real estate broker and had a fiduciary duty to disclose a non working sewer system. She claims to have reports from plumbers, the city, insurance adjusters, mold reports. When I was living at the home there were no problems with anything that I knew of. I have allready replied to the to the court. The court date is June 18th. How do I defend myself? Does she have a case?


Asked on 6/08/10, 11:31 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Mark Dunn Mark D. Dunn

You can testify, "I didn't know. I really didn't know." SHE has the burden to prove that you did. Does she have evidence? A smoking gun (some memo signed by you that says, "Gosh I hope she never finds out about the bad plumbing")?

You REALLY should get a continuance (file the motion for continuance NOW) and do some pre-trial discovery on her.

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Answered on 6/08/10, 2:40 pm
Bob Leonard Bob Leonard Law Group, PLLC

I do not practice in the small claims court, but one of our attorneys does. There is a misconception that there are no "rules" in that court, but that is not true. There are many rules and procedures that need to be followed or you can be severely disadvantaged. Our firm has won several cases just because the other side did not know that. If you want to have an appointment to talk to our civil litigation attorney, call (817) 336-8500 and ask to set up a meeting with Marty. Whatever you do, don't waste any time.

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Answered on 6/09/10, 10:48 am


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