If you have been wronged, you can seek justice in our court system. Before you run down to the courthouse, you should know a few things.
There are three types of courts in Texas: small claims courts, county courts, and district courts. It depends upon the type and amount of your claim where you can or must file your claim. Some claims can or must be filed in federal, not state court.
If you do not file your claim in the right court, you may lose valuable time, effort, and money. If you do not file your claim within the time required by law, you will lose your case. There are different time periods for filing cases and some exceptions apply in certain cases. For instance, you have four years from the date a contract has been breached to file a claim for breach of contract. However, in certain cases, such as fraud, the clock does not start until you discover or should have discovered the fraudulent act.
Even if you timely file your claim in the right court and win your case, you may still lose. Let’s say you win a judgment against someone for $10,000.00. Unless that person whips out his checkbook, you will be faced with figuring out how to collect the judgment. For instance, unless the person you have a judgment against has unprotected assets that he owns outright, you may find it difficult to collect. That is why, if possible, you should do an asset check before filing suit.
Most attorneys expect for you to pay a retainer unless they take your case on contingency. An attorney will be willing to take a case on contingency only if they believe the facts of the case are weighed in your favor and there exists a greater possibility of a recovery. A court may award you attorney’s fees if and only if there is a law that permits you to recover attorney’s fees in your type of case. If attorney’s fees are not allowed in your case, you must factor in the cost of hiring an attorney when deciding whether to file suit.
