Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3561 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R10941 AJA-D
2	2	By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 3561
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to damages in certain wrongful eviction actions.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Title 4, Property Code, is amended by adding
10	10	Chapter 30 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 30. WRONGFUL EVICTION
12	12	Sec. 30.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
13	13	applies to a claimant in a wrongful eviction action who establishes
14	14	that:
15	15	(1) the claimant was wrongfully evicted from property
16	16	occupied by the claimant under an unexpired written lease; and
17	17	(2) at the time of the eviction, the property owner who
18	18	evicted the claimant would not have been reasonably likely to
19	19	prevail in an eviction action brought in accordance with Chapter
20	20	24.
21	21	Sec. 30.002. AVAILABILITY OF DAMAGES FOR MENTAL ANGUISH. A
22	22	claimant to whom this chapter applies may recover, in addition to
23	23	any other relief to which the claimant is entitled, damages for
24	24	mental anguish if the claimant establishes that in the course of the
25	25	wrongful eviction, the property owner:
26	26	(1) used or threatened violence to convince the
27	27	claimant to vacate or abandon the property; or
28	28	(2) knowingly or recklessly destroyed or seized all or
29	29	the majority of the claimant's property that was located on the
30	30	leased premises.
31	31	Sec. 30.003. EXEMPLARY DAMAGES. (a) An award of exemplary
32	32	damages under this section is governed by Chapter 41, Civil
33	33	Practice and Remedies Code, except that to the extent of any
34	34	conflict between this section and that chapter, this section
35	35	controls.
36	36	(b) Notwithstanding Section 41.003, Civil Practice and
37	37	Remedies Code, a claimant entitled to recover damages for mental
38	38	anguish under Section 30.002 may also recover exemplary damages if
39	39	the claimant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the
40	40	wrongful eviction was pursued by the property owner solely for the
41	41	purpose of putting the property to a more profitable use.
42	42	(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), there is a rebuttable
43	43	presumption that a wrongful eviction was solely for the purpose of
44	44	putting the property to a more profitable use if:
45	45	(1) the wrongful eviction occurred less than six
46	46	months after the property owner acquired the property; and
47	47	(2) a structure occupied by the claimant was destroyed
48	48	by the property owner on or before the 60th day after the date of the
49	49	wrongful eviction.
50	50	(d) The trier of fact may award to a claimant to whom this
51	51	section applies exemplary damages in an amount that does not exceed
52	52	the greater of:
53	53	(1) the maximum amount of exemplary damages that may
54	54	be awarded in the action under Section 41.008, Civil Practice and
55	55	Remedies Code; or
56	56	(2) up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the
57	57	property from which the claimant was evicted, determined as of the
58	58	time of the wrongful eviction.
59	59	(e) In determining the amount of exemplary damages to be
60	60	awarded under this section, the trier of fact shall consider, in
61	61	addition to evidence considered under Section 41.011, Civil
62	62	Practice and Remedies Code, evidence, if any, relating to the
63	63	amount of damages necessary to deter future wrongful evictions of a
64	64	similar nature.
65	65	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
66	66	to a wrongful eviction that occurs on or after the effective date of
67	67	this Act.
68	68	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
69	69	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
70	70	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
71	71	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
72	72	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.