§ 14.004.Affidavit Relating to Previous Filings

The disclosure requirement, and it is the most demanding provision in the chapter.

An inmate filing an affidavit of inability to pay shall file a separate affidavit or declaration identifying each action, other than a Family Code action, previously brought by the person in which the person was not represented by an attorney — without regard to whether the person was an inmate at the time.

That last clause reaches back before incarceration. A person’s unrepresented filings from years before entering custody must be disclosed.

Four things must be stated about each action: the operative facts for which relief was sought; the case name, cause number, and court; each party named; and the result, including whether it was dismissed as frivolous or malicious.

The first of those four is the substantial one. Listing case numbers is clerical; stating the operative facts of every previous suit is what allows a court to see that a new claim repeats an old one.

Where a previous action was dismissed as frivolous or malicious, the affidavit must state the date of the final order affirming the dismissal.

That date matters because of the cost provisions. A finding that a previous action was dismissed as frivolous, affirmed by final order, triggers the additional costs the chapter imposes.

The affidavit must be accompanied by the certified trust account statement the fee section requires.

The practical difficulty of complying should be acknowledged. An inmate is being asked to reconstruct a litigation history from memory, without access to court records, and an omission or an error can defeat the current claim.

That is the deliberate design. The chapter makes filing effortful, and the disclosure is where most of the effort sits.