The Texas Business Court officially began accepting cases on September 1, 2024. Through the end of February 2025, the Business Court issued more than a dozen written opinions[1] largely focused on twenty sections of the Government Code, added under H.B. 19, the enabling statute, concerning jurisdiction, removal, and remand rules.[2] The subjects addressed in the initial opinions include personal jurisdiction,[3] procedural rules,[4] and amount-in-controversy.[5] Most of the opinions to date tackle the subject of removal jurisdiction.[6]
Section 25A.006 of the Texas Government Code allows, among other things, for the removal of pending cases from Texas district courts or county courts at law to the Business Court.[7] This procedure, where applicable, allows parties in pending cases to move their case over to the Business Court in order to take advantage of the Business Court’s specialized expertise in complex commercial disputes.[8]
Following the official opening of the Business Court, a number of litigants invoked the removal procedure by mutual agreement, seeking to remove pending cases previously filed in other Texas state courts, to the Business Court. This has generated a number of Business Court opinions analyzing and addressing the applicability of the removal procedure to lawsuits filed and pending before September 1st.
H.B. 19, § 8 grants the Business Court authority to act in suits commenced on or after September 1, 2024.[9] Section 8 states, “The changes in law made by this Act apply to civil actions commenced on or after September 1, 2024.”[10] Some of the litigants argued that removal of pre-existing cases is not prohibited because Section 8 does not affirmatively restrict application of the law change to “only” those civil actions commenced on or after September 1, 2024.[11] The Business Court opinions addressing the topic to date have uniformly rejected this argument, holding that only cases filed on or after September 1, 2024, may be removed to the Business Court.[12]
The newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals has confirmed that removal to the Business Court is not available in cases brought in other state courts prior to September 1, 2024.[13] The appellate court held that Section 8 is a jurisdictional provision which cannot be waived, even with the agreement of all parties.[14]
Consequently, unless and until the Supreme Court of Texas weighs in on the removal issue, it is unlikely that parties in complex commercial cases filed before September 1, 2024, will be successful in removing their cases to the Business Court.[15]
Stay tuned for more updates regarding the Texas Business Court.
[1] Business Court opinions can be found at the following link: https://www.txcourts.gov/businesscourt/opinions/
[2] See Synergy Global Outsourcing, LLC v. Hinduja Global Solutions Inc. et al, 2024 Tex. Bus. 2 at *3, —S.W.3d—-, 2024 WL 5337412, at *3 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Oct. 31, 2024, pet. dism’d) (“Thereafter, H.B. 19, § 1 adds twenty sections regarding the business court’s operation, including §§ 25A.004 and 25A.006 concerning the court’s jurisdiction, removal, and remand rules”).
[3] Primexx Energy Opportunity Fund, LP v. Primexx Energy Corp., No. 24-BC01B-0010, 2025 WL 446345, at *1 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Feb. 10, 2025).
[4] SafeLease Ins. Services LLC v. Storable, Inc., No. 25-BC03A-0001, 2025 WL 446343, at *1 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Feb. 10, 2025).
[5] C Ten 31 LLC on behalf of SummerMoon Holdings LLC v. Tarbox, No. 24-BC03A-0004, 2025 WL 224542, at *1 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Jan. 3, 2025).
[6] Synergy Global Outsourcing, LLC v. Hinduja Global Solutions Inc. et al, 2024 Tex. Bus. 2 at *3, —S.W.3d—-, 2024 WL 5337412, at *3 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Oct. 31, 2024); see also Bestway Oilfield, Inc. v. Cox, No. 24-BC11A-0016, 2025 WL 251338, at *2 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Jan. 17, 2025) (“Thus, Bestway provides this Court yet another opportunity to address the agreed removal of a lawsuit that commenced before September 1, 2024”); see generally Jorrie v. Charles, No. 24-BC04B-0001, 2024 Tex. Bus. 4, 2024 WL 4796436 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Nov. 7, 2024).
[7] See Tex. Govt. Code § 25A.006(e)-(f) (providing the rules and procedures for removing a case from Texas district courts and county courts at law to the applicable business court).
[8] See Ramsey, Daena Goldsmith, Texas Governor Greg Abbott Signs Bill Creating New Texas Business Court to Open in September 2024, available at: https://shieldslegal.com/texas-governor-greg-abbott-signs-bill-creating-new-texas-business-courts-to-open-september-2024/
[9] See Synergy, 2024 WL 5337412, at *3; see also Bestway Oilfield, Inc. v. Cox, No. 24-BC11A-0016, 2025 WL 251338, at *2 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Jan. 17, 2025) (“Thus, Bestway provides this Court yet another opportunity to address the agreed removal of a lawsuit that commenced before September 1, 2024”); see generally Jorrie v. Charles, No. 24-BC04B-0001, 2024 Tex. Bus. 4, 2024 WL 4796436 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Nov. 7, 2024).
[10] Bestway Oilfield, Inc. v. Cox, No. 24-BC11A-0016, 2025 WL 251338, at *4 (Tex. Bus. Ct. Jan. 17, 2025) (citations omitted).
[11] In re ETC Field Services, LLC, Relator, —S.W.3d—, No. 15-24-00131, 2025 WL 582320, at *3 (Tex. App. (15 Dist.) Feb. 21, 2025, orig. proceeding) (“ETC points out correctly that chapter 25A does not explicitly say that it applies “only” to cases commenced on or after September 1, 2024, and for cases commenced before that date does not expressly prohibit removal or state that previous law governs”) (citations omitted).
[12] See id., at *4, n.20 (citing Business Court cases rejecting the argument that a party can remove a case filed and pending before September 1, 2024).
[13] In re ETC Field Services, LLC, Relator, —S.W.3d—, No. 15-24-00131, 2025 WL 582320, at *3 (Tex. App. (15 Dist.) Feb. 21, 2025, orig. proceeding).
[14] See id., at *5 (maintaining its prior holding that Section 8 of H.B. 19 operates as a jurisdictional provision and that the parties may not waive the application of it in order to establish subject-matter jurisdiction of the Business Court).
[15] As of March 5, 2025, the appeals court decision in In re ETC Field Services, LLC has not yet been further appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas.
