Motions for Summary Disposition in Eviction Cases

A Motion for Summary Disposition is used to remove squatters quickly from a property. The motion asks the court to evict the resident without a trial because there are no facts that show the resident forced their way onto the property to live there. You only have four days to respond to a Motion for Summary Disposition before the court can order your removal.

If you are or ever were a lawful resident of the property, the landlord should not file a Motion for Summary Disposition. The law does not allow the landlord to use these motions to remove anyone who entered the property legally in the first place.

Motions for Summary Disposition are not for use against:

• Tenants
• Subtenants
• Immediate family members
• Anyone who has or had an ownership claim
• Anyone who began living on the property legally

A Motion for Summary Disposition is only appropriate in rare circumstances. If fact, even if the person who let you stay on the property was an illegal squatter, the landlord cannot use a Motion of Summary Disposition against you. However, you must still respond to the motion within four days.

There are two primary types of eviction lawsuits. The names for these, by statute, are:

1. Forcible entry and detainer: To evict someone who entered the property without consent of a person who owns, occupies, or controls access to the property (i.e., a squatter). These are very uncommon.
2. Forcible detainer: To evict a tenant who entered the property with consent (i.e., anyone who is not a squatter). Most eviction lawsuits are forcible detainer cases.

When you get sued for eviction, you get a notice from the court called a citation.

This citation is different from a Notice to Vacate, which a landlord must give you before filing papers with the court. You only get a citation when a landlord has already started an eviction lawsuit against you.

The citation usually includes some basic information about the case, your court date, and a copy of the Petition—the document the landlord used to start the eviction case in the court. The Petition describes why the landlord is trying to evict you.

If the landlord is accusing you of being a squatter, the citation may also include a Motion for Summary Disposition.

You must respond to a Motion for Summary Disposition within four days. If you don't respond within four days, the judge will decide the case without your input.

A Motion for Summary Disposition can only be filed in forcible entry and detainer (squatter) cases. If you moved into the home with the owner or occupant’s permission, then summary disposition should not apply to you. However, you must still file a response with the court within four days of being served with the eviction paperwork, or else the judge may grant the eviction against you without any trial or hearing.

The response should tell the court the facts of why you disagree with what the landlord wrote in their Motion, as well as contain evidence for what you’re saying. For example, if you ever had a written lease, mention that lease and attach a copy of it if possible.

You can use TexasLawHelp’s Eviction Answer to respond to both a Motion for Summary Disposition and a Petition to Evict.

To defeat a Motion for Summary Disposition, include evidence that you are or have ever been any of the following:

• A tenant
• A subtenant
• A full or partial owner
• A family member of a tenant or owner
• Any other person who had permission to enter the property

File the Answer with the Justice Court listed in the citation. You can file in person or efile. Efiling can be hard to navigate, and court hours vary, so try not to wait until the last minute. Be sure to send the landlord or their attorney, if they have one, a copy of the Answer when you file it.

If the judge decides that there are genuinely disputed facts in the case, the court should deny the landlord’s Motion for Summary Disposition. If that happens, the case will follow the normal eviction proceedings and hold a hearing.

If the judge decides to grant the Motion for Summary Disposition, it acts as an eviction judgment against you. You have five days from the day the judge signs the Order for Summary Disposition to appeal the eviction.

If you do not appeal, the landlord can ask the court for a Writ of Possession. The constable will give you a copy of the Writ of Possession, after which you have 24 hours to move out before the constable can forcibly remove you.