Sebastian v. Durant

2025 Tex. Bus. 4

The Business Court of Texas Eleventh Division

TIFFANY LYNN SEBASTIAN and § MICHAEL JEFFREY SEBASTIAN, § INDIVIDUALLY and § DERIVATIVELY ON BEHALF OF § THE CLASSIC DEALERSHIPS and § 16835 CADET PARTNERS, LLC, § Plaintiffs, § v. § Cause No. 25-BC11A-0001 § T. BENTLY DURANT, THOMAS R. § DURANT, THE DURANT CLASSIC § DYNASTY TRUST, MICHAEL A. § WARD, 8100 PARTNERS, LTD., § 8100 MANAGEMENT LLC, 8705 § PARTNERS, LTD., and 8705 § MANAGEMENT LLC, § Defendants. ═══════════════════════════════════════ SYLLABUS 1 ═══════════════════════════════════════

This opinion concludes that, under Section 8 of House Bill 19—the court’s enabling legislation—the entirety of a civil action commences with the filing of the original petition, regardless of when additional parties and claims are joined.

1 NOTE: The syllabus was created by court staff and is provided for the convenience of the reader. It is not part of the Court’s opinion, does not constitute the Court’s official description or statement, and should not be relied upon as legal authority.

Additionally, Chapter 25A of the Texas Government Code permits only the removal of an “action,” and not the partial removal of individual claims within an action. The court orders remand based on its lack of jurisdiction.