§ 30.021.Award of Attorney's Fees in Relation to Certain Motions to Dismiss

The fee provision attached to the Texas dismissal motion for claims with no basis in law or fact.

On a trial court's granting or denial, in whole or in part, of a motion to dismiss filed under the rules adopted by the supreme court under Section 22.004(g) of the Government Code, the court may award costs and reasonable and necessary attorney's fees to the prevailing party.

The cross-reference is to Rule 91a, which allows dismissal of a cause of action that has no basis in law or fact. Both the rule and this section came out of the same 2011 legislation.

The fee runs both ways. It is available on a grant or denial, to the prevailing party — so a movant who succeeds may recover, and a respondent who defeats the motion may recover too. That symmetry discourages meritless dismissal motions as much as meritless claims.

"In whole or in part" covers the mixed outcome where some causes of action are dismissed and others survive.

The 2019 amendment made the award discretionary. As enacted the fee was mandatory; the section now reads may award, which lets a court decline where a motion was reasonable though unsuccessful.

The exclusion is broad: the section does not apply to actions by or against the state, other governmental entities, or public officials acting in their official capacity or under color of law.