Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 42.001 · Chapter 42. SETTLEMENT
DEFINITIONS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
In this chapter:
(1) "Claim" means a request, including a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, to recover monetary damages.
(2) "Claimant" means a person making a claim.
(3) "Defendant" means a person from whom a claimant seeks recovery on a claim, including a counterdefendant, cross-defendant, or third-party defendant.
(4) "Governmental unit" means the state, a unit of state government, or a political subdivision of this state.
(5) "Litigation costs" means money actually spent and obligations actually incurred that are directly related to the action in which a settlement offer is made. The term includes:
(A) court costs;
(B) reasonable deposition costs;
(C) reasonable fees for not more than two testifying expert witnesses; and
(D) reasonable attorney's fees.
(6) "Settlement offer" means an offer to settle or compromise a claim made in compliance with Section 42.003.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, Sec. 2.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 203 (H.B. 274), Sec. 4.01, eff. September 1, 2011.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.42.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 55fe6589b5ac9c8610fb0608a519ebf7d79e29bde4fa3a6bde9f41f487bf0465
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Civil Practice and Remedies Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.