The Austin Court of Appeals recently held that a plaintiff’s notice of non-suit precludes a defendant from recovering attorney’s fees as prevailing party under a written agreement. In this case, the plaintiffs bought a house from defendants under a standard-form sales contract promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Plaintiffs brought suit against defendants for failing to disclose
nonsuit
Do counterclaims survive when a plaintiff non-suits?
By David Oliveros on
Posted in Opinions & Judgments
The simple answer is yes, they do. See Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 162.
But the defendant’s pleading must allege a cause of action independent of the plaintiff’s claims on which the defendant can recover. If a defendant fails to do so, then the plaintiff has an absolute right to a non-suit of all claims, as the Dallas Court of Appeals demonstrated in In re Metropolitan Lloyds Insurance Company of Texas.Continue Reading Do counterclaims survive when a plaintiff non-suits?