§ 86.007.Applicability

Two exclusions, and together they mark the outer limit of the bar.

The first covers trespass. The chapter does not apply to a claim for an injury sustained during an offence under the Penal Code's criminal trespass provision — other than a trespass in a habitation or shelter — brought by a person who has not been convicted of another crime that occurred in conjunction with the trespass.

Both qualifiers narrow it. Trespass into a home or shelter is not excluded, and a trespasser convicted of anything else arising from the same episode loses the exclusion.

What remains protected is the bare trespasser — someone who crossed a boundary and did nothing more. The chapter is aimed at people injured while committing offences, and simple trespass sits at the margin of that.

The second exclusion is the more consequential. The chapter does not apply to a claim in which the conduct of the owner of the premises is grossly negligent or intentional — other than conduct justified under Subchapter C, Chapter 9, Penal Code, the justification provisions for protection of property.

The bar protects ordinary negligence and nothing worse. A property owner who sets a trap, or acts with conscious indifference to a known extreme risk, is not shielded by the fact that the injured person was committing an offence.

The carve-back for justified conduct means that force lawfully used to protect property remains protected, so the exclusion does not reopen liability for lawful self-help.