§ 51.001.Appeal from Justice Court to County or District Court

The entry point to the appellate structure, and its threshold has not moved since it was set.

In a case tried in justice court in which the judgment or amount in controversy exceeds $250, exclusive of costs, or in which the appeal is expressly provided by law, a party to a final judgment may appeal to the county court.

The $250 threshold is now nominal. Justice court jurisdiction extends to claims well above it, so in practice almost every justice court judgment is appealable.

"Or in which the appeal is expressly provided by law" covers the rest. Where another statute gives an appeal, this threshold does not stand in the way — eviction cases being the familiar example.

"Exclusive of costs" prevents costs being added to reach the threshold, so the measure is the substance of the dispute.

What this appeal is deserves emphasis, because it is unlike an ordinary appeal. An appeal from justice court to county court is a trial de novo — the case is tried again, from the beginning, as though the justice court proceeding had not happened.

That fits how justice courts operate. They hear cases quickly, frequently without lawyers and often without a record, and there is nothing for an appellate court to review in the usual sense.

It also explains the preclusion rules elsewhere in this code, under which a justice court judgment binds only as to recovery or denial of recovery, and its findings carry no preclusive weight.

Subsection (b) redirects the appeal where the county court’s civil jurisdiction has been transferred to the district court, which has happened in a number of counties — the appeal then goes to the district court.