Form 14-10

This petition assumes that the debt has already been reduced to judgment and the debtor conveyed his property to the transferee, intending to place it beyond the judgment creditor’s reach. The petition should be modified as appropriate to reflect the facts of the case.

Fraudulent transfers are discussed at section 14.30 in this chapter. See also Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ 24.001–.013.

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 30.014(a) requires certain parties to include partial identification information in initial pleadings in civil actions filed in district, county, or statutory county courts. A court may order that an initial pleading be amended to contain this information if the court determines that the pleading does not contain the information. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 30.014(b).

[Caption. See § 3 of the Introduction in volume 1 of this manual.]

Petition for Fraudulent Transfer Action

1.Discovery Level.      The damages sought are within the jurisdictional limits of this Court. Tex. R. Civ. P. 47(b). This lawsuit seeks only monetary relief aggregating $100,000 or less. Tex. R. Civ. P. 47(c)(1). Discovery is intended to be conducted under Level 1. Tex. R. Civ. P. 190.2.

2.Parties.      Plaintiff is [name of plaintiff]. [The last three numbers of Plaintiff’s driver’s license number are [numbers]./Plaintiff has not been issued a driver’s license.] [The last three numbers of Plaintiff’s Social Security number are [numbers]./Plaintiff has not been issued a Social Security number.] Plaintiff’s address is [address, city, state]. Defendant Judg­ment Debtor is [name of defendant judgment debtor], who can be served with citation at [address, city, state]. Defendant Transferee is [name of defendant transferee], who can be served with citation at [address, city, state].

3.Underlying Debt.      On [date], judgment was rendered in Cause No. [number], styled “[style of case]” in [designation and location of court] in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant Judgment Debtor, in the amount of $[amount]. The judgment remains unpaid. Plaintiff perfected its lien against Defendant Judgment Debtor’s nonexempt real property located in [county] County, Texas, by filing an abstract of judgment. Copies of the judgment and the recorded abstract of judgment are attached as Exhibits [exhibit number/letter] and [exhibit number/letter] respectively and incorporated by reference.

4.Transfer.      On [date], Defendant Judgment Debtor executed and delivered a deed conveying to Defendant Transferee, [describe relationship to defendant judgment debtor, e.g., his father], his interest in certain real property described as follows: [describe property]. A copy of the recorded deed is attached as Exhibit [exhibit number/letter] and incorporated by reference. On the date of the transfer, this property had a fair market value of $[amount].

5.Nature of Fraudulent Transfer.      The transfer referred to in paragraph 4. was a fraud against the rights of Defendant Judgment Debtor’s creditors, because

the transfer was made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud Plaintiff and Defendant Judgment Debtor’s other creditors.

the transfer was made without Defendant Judgment Debtor’s receiving reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the property, and Defendant Judgment Debtor was insolvent when the transfer was made.

the transfer was made to an insider for an antecedent debt, Defendant Judgment Debtor was insolvent at the time, and Defendant Transferee had reasonable cause to believe that Defen­dant Judgment Debtor was insolvent.

[Describe particulars of the transaction, e.g., Although Defendant Judgment Debtor trans­ferred the property in question to Defendant Transferee in June 2010, Defendant Judgment Debtor continues to receive rent from tenants.]

6.Attorney’s Fees.      Plaintiff found it necessary to employ the undersigned attorney to file suit. A reasonable fee for the attorney’s services that have and will be rendered is no less than $[amount] in accordance with section 24.013 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code. Plaintiff is also entitled to recover attorney’s fees through appeal.

7.Prayer.      Plaintiff prays that—

a.Defendant Judgment Debtor and Defendant Transferee be cited to appear and answer;

b.Plaintiff be granted judgment against Defendant Transferee for $[amount];

c.the Court enter judgment that the transfer of the above-described property from Defendant Judgment Debtor to Defendant Transferee was void with respect to Plaintiff;

d.the Court enter its decree setting aside and canceling the deed conveying the above-described property as fraudulent;

e.the Court award prejudgment and postjudgment interest as allowed by law;

f.Plaintiff be granted judgment for at least $[amount] as punitive damages;

g.Plaintiff be granted judgment for $[amount] for attorney’s fees through appeal;

h.Plaintiff be granted judgment for all costs of court [;/; and]

i.Plaintiff be granted foreclosure of Plaintiff’s security interest in the collateral; and

            [i./j.] Plaintiff be granted all further relief to which Plaintiff may be entitled.

   
[Name]
Attorney for Plaintiff
State Bar No.:
[E-mail address]
[Address]
[Telephone]
[Telecopier]