| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to payment of attorney's fees in certain actions to |
|
|
recover possession of real property. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 16.034(a), Civil Practice and Remedies |
|
|
Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) In a suit for the possession of real property between a |
|
|
person claiming under record title to the property and one claiming |
|
|
by adverse possession, if the prevailing party recovers possession |
|
|
of the property from a person unlawfully in actual possession, the |
|
|
court shall [may] award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the |
|
|
prevailing party if the court finds that the person unlawfully in |
|
|
actual possession made a claim of adverse possession that was |
|
|
groundless and made in bad faith. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to a suit for the possession of real property filed on or after the |
|
|
effective date of this Act. A suit filed before the effective date |
|
|
of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for |
|
|
that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |