Tex. R. Civ. P. 502.6 · Part V. RULES OF PRACTICE IN JUSTICE COURTS
COUNTERCLAIM; CROSS-CLAIM; THIRD PARTY CLAIM
Text — As posted by the Supreme Court of Texas (file dated October 2, 2026)
(a) Counterclaim. A defendant may file a petition stating as a counterclaim any claim against a plaintiff that is within the jurisdiction of the justice court, whether or not related to the claims in the plaintiff’s petition. The defendant must file a counterclaim petition as provided in Rule 502.2, and must pay a filing fee or provide a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The court need not generate a citation for a counterclaim and no answer to the counterclaim need be filed. The defendant must serve a copy of the counterclaim as provided by Rule 501.4.
(b) Cross-Claim. A plaintiff seeking relief against another plaintiff, or a defendant seeking relief against another defendant may file a cross-claim. The filing party must file a cross-claim petition as provided in Rule 502.2, and must pay a filing fee or provide a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. A citation must be issued and served as provided by Rule 501.2 on any party that has not yet filed a petition or an answer, as appropriate. If the party filed against has filed a petition or an answer, the filing party must serve the cross-claim as provided by Rule 501.4.
(c) Third Party Claim. A defendant seeking to bring another party into a lawsuit who may be liable for all or part of the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant may file a petition as provided in Rule 502.2, and must pay a filing fee or provide a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. A citation must be issued and served as provided by Rule 501.2.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Supreme Court of Texas (file dated October 2, 2026)
- Official file
- https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1463426/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf (PDF pages 257)
- Text hash
- sha256 de4474598aa51877d033aaecfe76b394c5ff10efec48835580b7b9fb12a36d36
- Composed by
- compose_tx_rules.py 2026-10-05: two PDF extractors agree character for character after the same chrome removal
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