§ 30.016.Recusal or Disqualification of Certain Judges

An anti-abuse provision aimed at repeated recusal motions used to stall a case or shop for a judge.

A "tertiary recusal motion" is a third or subsequent motion for recusal or disqualification filed against a district court, statutory county court, or business court judge by the same party in a case.

Subsection (b) removes the delay. A judge who declines recusal after such a motion complies with the ordinary rules except that the judge shall continue to preside, sign orders, and move the case to final disposition as though the motion had not been filed. The case does not stop while the motion is heard.

Subsection (c) is the deterrent, and it is severe. A judge hearing a tertiary motion who denies it shall award reasonable and necessary attorney's fees and costs to the party opposing the motion. The party and the attorney are jointly and severally liable, and the award must be paid before the 31st day after the order unless properly superseded.

The fee award is mandatory on denial — no finding of bad faith is required — and it reaches the lawyer personally.

Subsection (d): denial is only reviewable on appeal from final judgment, closing the interlocutory route.

Subsection (e) balances the section. If a tertiary motion is finally sustained, the new judge shall vacate all orders signed by the sitting judge during the pendency of the motion. The judge who keeps presiding does so at the risk that every order made meanwhile is undone.