§ 172.213.No Consent to Jurisdiction

A jurisdictional safe harbour for the foreign party.

Four acts are covered — requesting conciliation, consenting to participate, participating, and entering into a conciliation agreement or settlement.

None of them is consent to jurisdiction of a court in this state if the conciliation fails.

The concern is a real one. A foreign company invited to conciliate in Texas would otherwise weigh the risk that showing up creates a forum for a lawsuit.

That risk would defeat the policy in Section 172.201, which encourages these parties to conciliate.

The protection covers the settlement itself, so even signing an agreement does not submit a party to Texas courts.

Section 172.214 protects the same person physically. A conciliator, party or representative present in Texas to arrange or take part in a conciliation is not subject to service of process in a related civil matter.

Together the two sections make attendance safe. A party can come, participate and leave without acquiring a Texas forum or being served here.

Enforcement of a settlement is a separate matter. Section 172.211 gives a qualifying agreement the force of a final arbitration award, which carries its own enforcement route.