Disputes, Rights & Settlements in North Texas

Where are you in the process?

Many injury claims pass through the six stages below, whether they start on a highway or in a parking lot. Each step opens the guide that covers it. The last step forks, because a claim either settles or becomes a lawsuit, and the deadline for the second choice runs the whole time you are working on the first.

Five deadlines and limits North Texans run into

These come straight from Texas statutes. Each one has exceptions and conditions that the linked guide walks through, so treat this list as a map rather than a rulebook.

• Two years to file an injury lawsuit. Texas requires a personal injury suit to be filed no later than two years after the day the claim accrues, with exceptions (Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003). The deadline guide covers when the clock starts and the exceptions the law recognizes.
• 15 days for your own insurer to respond. When you file a claim on your own policy, the insurer must acknowledge it, start its investigation and ask for what it needs by the 15th day after it receives notice, or the 30th business day for an eligible surplus lines insurer (Insurance Code section 542.055). More deadlines follow; see how fast insurers must handle a claim.
• $20,000 in a justice court. Justice of the peace courts hear civil matters not reserved to the district or county courts where the amount in controversy is not more than $20,000, not counting interest (Government Code section 27.031). A deposit fight, an unpaid invoice or a small repair bill can fall under that limit. Start with filing a small claims case in North Texas.
• 30 days to return a deposit. A Texas landlord must refund a security deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises, subject to the forwarding-address rule in the same subchapter (Property Code section 92.103). The deposit guide explains what a landlord may deduct.
• 180 days for a wage claim. A wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission must be filed no later than the 180th day after the unpaid wages were due, and the statute calls that deadline a matter of jurisdiction (Labor Code section 61.051). See filing a wage claim in Texas.

How this site works

DRS North Texas is an independent publication. Every rule, deadline and dollar figure on these pages is checked against the statute, court rule or agency page it comes from, and that source is linked in the guide. Each guide shows the date its facts were last checked. Nobody here gives legal advice, and no page tells you what to do in your own case. The editorial policy sets out the method and how to report an error.

The site is paid for by advertising. Lawyers, mediators and legal services can buy clearly labelled placements for a flat fee. Advertisers do not get your information, do not get ranked, and cannot buy a guide's content. The advertising page explains the terms.

If you came here looking for the dispute resolution center that once used this web address, this is a different organization. Tarrant County's Dispute Resolution department offers mediation to county residents, and the free legal help directory lists programs in other counties.

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