§ 154.001.Definitions

Two definitions, and the first is a list of nearly every court in Texas.

"Court" reaches from the appellate courts down to the justice of the peace. An appellate court, a district court, the business court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a family law court, a probate court, a municipal court, or a justice of the peace court.

Including appellate courts is the notable choice. Cases settle on appeal as well as before trial, and the chapter lets a court of appeals refer a pending dispute the same way a trial court can.

Municipal and justice courts are included too, so the chapter reaches the smallest cases in the system.

"Dispute resolution organization" is defined by what it does. A private profit or nonprofit corporation, a political subdivision, a public corporation, or a combination, that offers alternative dispute resolution services to the public.

Both for-profit and nonprofit providers qualify. The definition takes no position on how a provider is organized.

Offering services to the public is the test. A private mediator with a practice is one thing; this definition describes the organizations a court can refer a case to under Section 154.021.