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Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 72.051

This is the official text of Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 72.051, part of Texas’s Civil Practice and Remedies Code — sets procedural rules and available remedies for civil lawsuits.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 72.051. DEFINITIONS.

Official statutory text

In this subchapter:

(1) Repealed by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 709 (H.B. 2190), Sec. 141, eff. September 1, 2023.

(2) "Civil action" means an action in which:

(A) a claimant seeks recovery of damages for bodily injury or death caused in a collision; and

(B) a defendant:

(i) operated a commercial motor vehicle involved in the collision; or

(ii) owned, leased, or otherwise held or exercised legal control over a commercial motor vehicle or operator of a commercial motor vehicle involved in the collision.

(3) "Claimant" means a person, including a decedent's estate, seeking or who has sought recovery of damages in a civil action. The term includes a plaintiff, counterclaimant, cross-claimant, third-party plaintiff, and an intervenor. The term does not include a passenger in a commercial motor vehicle unless the person is an employee of the owner, lessor, lessee, or operator of the vehicle.

(3-a) "Collision" means an event in which operating a commercial motor vehicle causes bodily injury or death.

(4) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle being used for commercial purposes in interstate or intrastate commerce to transport property or passengers, deliver or transport goods, or provide services. The term does not include a motor vehicle being used at the time of the collision for personal, family, or household purposes.

(5) "Compensatory damages" has the meaning assigned by Section 41.001.

(6) "Employee" means a person who works for another person for compensation. The term includes a person deemed an employee under state or federal law and any other agent or person for whom an employer may be liable under respondeat superior.

(7) "Exemplary damages" has the meaning assigned by Section 41.001.

(8) "Motor vehicle" means a self-propelled device in which a person or property can be transported on a public highway. The term includes a trailer when in use with a self-propelled device described by this subdivision. The term does not include a device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

(9) "Operated," "operating," and "operation," when used with respect to a commercial motor vehicle, means to cause the vehicle to move or function in any respect, including driving, stopping, or parking the vehicle or otherwise putting the vehicle into use or operation. These terms include a commercial motor vehicle that has become disabled.

(10) "Video" means an electronic representation of a sequence of images, with or without accompanying audio, depicting either stationary or moving scenes, regardless of the manner in which the sequence of images is captured, recorded, or stored.

Status: repealed · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.