Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3085 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R12767 MM-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 3085
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to an award of costs and attorney's fees and the imposition
8	8	of sanctions in certain suits for the dissolution of a marriage or
9	9	affecting the parent-child relationship.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 6, Family Code, is amended
12	12	by adding Section 6.7081 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 6.7081. ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES FOLLOWING REMOVAL
14	14	IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) A court with jurisdiction of a suit
15	15	filed under this chapter may, on its own motion or on the motion of a
16	16	party, take action as provided under Subsection (b) if a party
17	17	removes the suit to federal court and the court with jurisdiction
18	18	finds that the federal court to which the case was removed has:
19	19	(1) remanded the proceedings to state court;
20	20	(2) imposed attorney's fees or other costs of suit
21	21	against the removing party or the removing party's counsel; and
22	22	(3) determined that the removal was:
23	23	(A) frivolous;
24	24	(B) filed for the purpose of delaying the state
25	25	court suit or avoiding an unfavorable decision by the state court;
26	26	(C) filed for the purpose of gaining an advantage
27	27	over another party in the state court suit; or
28	28	(D) filed for the purpose of causing damage to
29	29	another party in the state court suit.
30	30	(b) If the court with jurisdiction of the suit makes a
31	31	finding described by Subsection (a), the court may:
32	32	(1) award:
33	33	(A) the reasonable attorney's fees and expenses
34	34	incurred due to the removal by a party that did not remove the case
35	35	to federal court;
36	36	(B) other damages caused by the removal to a
37	37	party that did not remove the case to federal court; and
38	38	(C) postjudgment interest on any attorney's
39	39	fees, costs, and damages awarded to a party that did not remove the
40	40	case to federal court;
41	41	(2) impose monetary sanctions on the party that
42	42	removed the case to federal court; and
43	43	(3) take any action as authorized by the Texas Rules of
44	44	Civil Procedure or other law regarding a party that files a
45	45	frivolous pleading or is determined to be a vexatious litigant.
46	46	(c) The sanctions described by Subsection (b)(2) may be
47	47	imposed on:
48	48	(1) the removing party;
49	49	(2) the removing party's attorney; or
50	50	(3) both the removing party and the removing party's
51	51	attorney.
52	52	(d) A judgment for attorney's fees and costs of the suit
53	53	awarded under this section may be enforced in the name of the
54	54	attorney for a party that did not remove the case to federal court
55	55	by any means available for the enforcement of a judgment for debt.
56	56	SECTION 2. Chapter 106, Family Code, is amended by adding
57	57	Section 106.003 to read as follows:
58	58	Sec. 106.003. ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES FOLLOWING
59	59	REMOVAL IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. (a) A court with jurisdiction of
60	60	a suit filed under this chapter may, on its own motion or on the
61	61	motion of a party, take action as provided under Subsection (b) if a
62	62	party removes the suit to federal court and the court with
63	63	jurisdiction finds that the federal court to which the case was
64	64	removed has:
65	65	(1) remanded the proceedings to state court;
66	66	(2) imposed attorney's fees or other costs of suit
67	67	against the removing party or the removing party's counsel; and
68	68	(3) determined that the removal was:
69	69	(A) frivolous;
70	70	(B) filed for the purpose of delaying the state
71	71	court suit or avoiding an unfavorable decision by the state court;
72	72	(C) filed for the purpose of gaining an advantage
73	73	over another party in the state court suit; or
74	74	(D) filed for the purpose of causing damage to
75	75	another party in the state court suit.
76	76	(b) If the court with jurisdiction of the suit makes a
77	77	finding described by Subsection (a), the court may:
78	78	(1) award:
79	79	(A) the reasonable attorney's fees and expenses
80	80	incurred due to the removal by a party that did not remove the case
81	81	to federal court;
82	82	(B) other damages caused by the removal to a
83	83	party that did not remove the case to federal court; and
84	84	(C) postjudgment interest on any attorney's
85	85	fees, costs, and damages awarded to a party that did not remove the
86	86	case to federal court;
87	87	(2) impose monetary sanctions on the party that
88	88	removed the case to federal court; and
89	89	(3) take any action as authorized by the Texas Rules of
90	90	Civil Procedure or other law regarding a party that files a
91	91	frivolous pleading or is determined to be a vexatious litigant.
92	92	(c) The sanctions described by Subsection (b)(2) may be
93	93	imposed on:
94	94	(1) the removing party;
95	95	(2) the removing party's attorney; or
96	96	(3) both the removing party and the removing party's
97	97	attorney.
98	98	(d) A judgment for attorney's fees and costs of the suit
99	99	awarded under this section may be enforced in the name of the
100	100	attorney for a party that did not remove the case to federal court
101	101	by any means available for the enforcement of a judgment for debt.
102	102	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
103	103	a suit for dissolution of a marriage or a suit affecting the
104	104	parent-child relationship filed on or after the effective date of
105	105	this Act. A suit for dissolution of a marriage or a suit affecting
106	106	the parent-child relationship filed before the effective date of
107	107	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was
108	108	filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
109	109	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.