Texas Business Court Issues First Published TCPA Dismissal Ruling
In-house counsel litigating in the Texas Business Court must evaluate whether the TCPA’s early dismissal mechanism applies to their pending or potential claims, as this first published Business Court TCPA ruling confirms the statute offers stronger procedural advantages for defendants than Rule 91a motions.
The Texas Business Court issued its first published opinion on a TCPA motion to dismiss in Local Marketing, Inc. v. Bennett, granting a defendant’s partial motion to dismiss defamation and tortious interference counterclaims. The court applied the TCPA’s three-step framework, finding the defendant’s customer letters referencing a related temporary restraining order qualified as protected communications pertaining to a judicial proceeding, and dismissed the claims after counterclaimants failed to present clear, specific prima facie evidence of damages. The ruling confirms the TCPA’s key benefits over Rule 91a motions in the Business Court: evidentiary burden-shifting to plaintiffs, mandatory attorney fee awards for successful movants, automatic discovery stays, and interlocutory appeal rights. In-house counsel should review pending Business Court matters to identify claims eligible for TCPA dismissal, ensuring they meet the statute’s 60-day filing deadline and avoid exempt commercial speech categories.