Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas

In 2006 I was sued for eviction for non-payment of rent. The case was brought because of a series of clerical errors. I was not behind in rent and I did not have an opportunity to work with the landlord before the case was filed. The landlord moved to dismiss the case and it was dismissed "without prejudice." I thought this was the end of it.

I stayed in that complex for another year and a half and have been with two separate complexes since without this ever being an issue.

In 2012 it showed up on a background check run my a major tenant-screening

background-check company and as a result I've been denied a lease and lost

my application fee.

I verified with the JP court in Tarrant County and the record shows up

as "dismissed." I have a hardcopy letter from the court saying it

was "dismissed without prejudice by court on [date, 2006] because defendant

has paid." I also have copies of other paperwork showing that all

rent was paid on time, paperwork showing proof of the clerical error,

and paperwork showing I was not served with any notice of delinquency

before I was summoned to appear in court.

What can I do to avoid future prospective landlords taking adverse action

against me due to a long-ago clerical mix-up?

What can I do to have this apartment reconsider and/or refund my application fee?

If I do nothing, how long will landlords be able to take this event into consideration when deciding whether to rent to me or not?

For what it's worth, the apartment was sold in 2008 and closed later that

year.

The zip code provided is where I lived in 2006. I now live in the county seat in the county due east of where I lived then.

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