Bell Nunnally Partners R. Heath Cheek and Nathan Cox and Associate Naomie Kweyu authored a four-part “Practical Law” series for Bloomberg Law examining the Texas Business Court and key considerations for practitioners navigating the state’s specialized business court system.

The series with excerpts:

“Structure and Unique Features of the Texas Business Court” (Cheek and Cox)

The State of Texas created the Texas Business Court in 2023 as a specialized trial court for complex business disputes, designed to provide consistency and expertise in handling such cases.” The article details the court’s geographical divisions and its concurrent civil jurisdiction with district courts over certain complex business disputes.

“Construction Litigation and the Texas Business Court” (Cheek, Cox and Kweyu) examines construction litigation in the Texas Business Court.

A general contractor calls your office. Their company is owed $5 million by a developer on a stalled mixed-use project. The developer’s managing partner allegedly diverted construction funds into a side entity they control, leaving the project incomplete and your client unpaid. Where do you file?

If your initial instinct is not the Texas Business Court, it may be worth taking a second look. Although large construction disputes have traditionally gone to arbitration, the new Business Court provides an attractive option.

“Motions Practice in the Texas Business Court” (Cheek and Cox)

Motion practice before the Texas Business Court is governed by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Business Court Local Rules as well as the judge-specific rules. The citation format when citing a Local Rule of the business court is to identify the rule using “BCLR [Number].” The Local Rules are uniformly applied to all divisions within the Texas Business Court system except where a judge has their own specific rules that modify (usually only slightly) the Local Rules.

This overview breaks down some of the key and unique Local Rules, including the pitfalls practitioners should be aware of when practicing in the new court system.

“Navigating Transfer and Removal in the Texas Business Court” (Cheek, Cox and Kweyu)

Transfer and removal in the Business Court come with certain considerations every practitioner needs to know about: what happens to your statute of limitations; how counterclaims and crossclaims interact with jurisdiction; and the mechanics of removal itself.” The authors caution, “Pay close attention to the procedural rules—missing something could lead to negative consequences for your client.”