The Texas taxonomy
The claim families Texas civil practice runs on — each with the elements the law requires, the authorities that create it, and the Texas-specific trap that catches the unwary. This is the map of what the law provides; whether any of it fits your matter is a legal judgment.
DTPA consumer claims
Elements
- consumer status
- laundry-list act / unconscionable action / warranty breach
- producing cause
- economic (or statutory) damages
Authorities
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ 17.45, 17.46(b), 17.50
- presuit notice § 17.505 (the registry's 60-day door)
Texas trap: The 60-day presuit notice is jurisdictionally loaded in practice — and treble exposure turns on knowing/intentional findings.
Fraud / fraudulent inducement
Elements
- material misrepresentation
- knowledge of falsity / reckless
- intent to induce reliance
- justifiable reliance
- injury
Authorities
- common law (anchor-verified)
- statutory fraud in real-estate/stock: Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 27.01
Texas trap: Fraudulent inducement survives merger clauses only on the doctrine's own terms — the disclaimers-of-reliance line is anchor territory.
Negligence · premises liability
Elements
- duty (status-calibrated: invitee / licensee / trespasser)
- breach
- proximate cause
- damages
Authorities
- common law (anchors)
- comparative bar: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001
Texas trap: NEGLIGENT ACTIVITY vs PREMISES DEFECT is a submission fork — charging the wrong theory is a Casteel-zone error.
Proportionate responsibility (ch. 33)
Elements
- percentage submission for every claimant/defendant/settling person/RTP
- the 51% claimant bar
- settlement credits
Authorities
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.003, 33.012
- RTP designation § 33.004
Texas trap: The responsible-third-party designation reshapes the verdict form without adding a party — answer-side leverage the FL engine has no analog for.
Suit on sworn account (Rule 185)
Elements
- systematic record of goods/services sold
- verified petition per the rule
- prices just and true, offsets allowed
Authorities
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 185
- verified denial per Rule 93
Texas trap: An unverified denial leaves the account PRIMA FACIE proved — the burden-shifting pleading device is the trap, both directions.
Quantum meruit / unjust enrichment
Elements
- valuable services/materials furnished
- to the defendant
- accepted
- under circumstances giving reasonable notice of expected payment
Authorities
- common law (anchors)
Texas trap: An express contract covering the services generally BARS quantum meruit — plead it as the alternative it is.
Employment — TCHRA (ch. 21)
Elements
- protected class / activity
- adverse action
- causation under the chapter's standards
- exhaustion first
Authorities
- Tex. Lab. Code §§ 21.051, 21.201-21.202
- the 180-day charge clock (registry)
Texas trap: The 180-day administrative charge deadline is the claim's life bar — computed, never estimated.
Insurance code claims (541/542/542A)
Elements
- unfair settlement practice / prompt-pay violation
- the 542A weather-claim presuit notice where it applies
- damages incl. the 542.060 interest engine
Authorities
- Tex. Ins. Code §§ 541.060, 541.151, 542.058, 542A.003
Texas trap: 542A notice + the insurer's election can MOVE the defendant — the agent drops out and the case reshapes.
Trespass to try title / possession
Elements
- the statutory action for land title
- superior title from common source / limitations title / prior possession
Authorities
- Tex. Prop. Code § 22.001
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 783-809
Texas trap: Title disputes RIDE the statutory action, not a declaratory judgment — pleading UDJA for pure title is the classic wrong-vehicle error (fees temptation notwithstanding).
Declaratory judgment + the fees layer
Elements
- justiciable controversy within ch. 37
- declaration sought
- the 37.009 fee discretion
Authorities
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 37.003-37.009
- fees framework: § 38.001 (contract/services claims)
Texas trap: 38.001 fees need presentment; 37.009 fees are equitable-and-just discretion — two different engines, never conflated.
Exemplary damages (ch. 41)
Elements
- fraud/malice/gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence
- unanimity on liability + amount
- the statutory caps
- the 41.0115 net-worth gate
Authorities
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 41.003, 41.008, 41.0115
Texas trap: The clear-and-convincing burden and the unanimity requirement ride the CHARGE — miss them there and the award dies on appeal.