Hurricane Ike made landfall in the Houston-Galveston region in 2008, but beyond the estimated $37.5 billion in damages in the area according to Texas A&M University researchers, the impact to Harris County district courts and its civil case backlog were still being felt 12 years later during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Sammy Ford IV, an AZA Law partner and Houston Bar Association member.
“You’re trying to get through a backlog for [Hurricane] Ike, and then you have this shutdown where you can’t have any in-person jury trials for a long time. Then when you do have the in-person jury trials, you’re dealing with all of the unique circumstances,” Ford said. “So much kind of built up that it just kept things from being resolved efficiently.”
The big picture
Civil district courts handle a broad set of cases involving car wrecks, workplace injuries, employment cases and business disputes, Ford said. All types of cases other than family, juvenile and criminal cases can be filed in one of Harris County’s 24 civil district courts.
“If you have a dispute with [a homeowners association], it can go to the district courts. Or a dispute because there’s a nuisance or loud noises in your neighborhood, that goes to the civil district courts. It’s really just about everything,” Ford said.
The last time a civil district court was created in Harris County was in the early '80s, said Lauren Reeder, Harris County District Court judge for the 234th civil courts.
What's happening
In March, State Rep. Mano DeAyala, R-Houston, filed House Bill 3600 that asked Texas lawmakers for five additional civil district courts by 2026 to address the county’s longstanding civil case backlog. The move came after Harris County commissioners voted in favor of the request during a Feb. 27 Commissioners Court meeting.
HB 3600 calls for:
- Three judicial districts on Oct. 1
- Two additional judicial districts on Oct. 1, 2026
The impact
With increased judicial resources and more courts available, judges can process cases more quickly and efficiently, helping to clear accumulated backlog cases more rapidly, Ford said. Harris County’s district courts saw 40,000 active cases in 2012, compared to more than 70,000 in 2024, according to the county’s civil district courts dashboard.
“Houston in particular is where a lot of the lawsuits involving businesses are filed," Ford said. "As the number of businesses increases, all of those things mean that the courts are pretty overwhelmed."
What’s next
As of March 25, HB 3600 is still in the first stage and was read for the first time in the Legislature, then referred to the judiciary and civil jurisprudence house committee for further deliberation, according to Legislative filing documents. Failure of the conference committee to reach an agreement kills the bill.
If the committee report is acceptable, the bill must be voted by the house and senate before the Texas governor signs the bill and it takes effect on Sept. 1. While no dates were listed on the legislative website as of press time, Community Impact reached out to DeAyala's office for comment.
