The Supreme Court of Texas has recently revised the rules governing citation by publication. The change was the result of Section 9.02 of Senate Bill 891, which amended Tex. Govt. Code §§ 51.607(a) and (b) and mandated the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to create and maintain a “public information internet website” that would house citations or other public notices that parties are required to publish under court rules. Furthermore, such website must be accessible and searchable by the public. To satisfy this legislative directive, the OCA has developed Texas Online Public Information - Courts (TOPICs) for the posting of citations and other legal notices. The OCA maintains the website, but the district clerks, county clerks, and court staff are the parties that upload the information. Users can search TOPICs by Name, Cause Number, and Court/County. Results include details, such as citation type, start and end date of the publication notice, and text of the citation/notice.
In connection with the legislative amendment, the Supreme Court of Texas revised Rules 116 and 117 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The revised Rule 116 requires, except in limited circumstances, that the citation be served in both a newspaper and on the Public Information Internet Website. Rule 117 was changed to specify the information that must be included on a return of citation served by publication. Although the order states that the effective date of the revised rules was June 1, 2020, due to COVID-19, the Texas Supreme Court delayed the effective date of the order until July 1, 2020.
