Texas Forms, Pleading & Practice

Overview

TFPP is also known as Texas Jurisprudence (TexJur) Pleading and Practice Forms, Second Edition. It is published by Thomson West. The purpose of TFPP is to “provide the Texas practitioner with a comprehensive collection of pleading and practice forms coupled with a concise textual treatment of Texas civil practice law” [quote from Preface, 1 Tex. Jur. Tex. Forms: Pleading and Practice iii (2006)]. In addition to forms, TFPP provides the legal background that is necessary to properly use the forms. Many of the forms are drawn from actually filed pleadings or briefs.

Online Access

Online Access is available on Westlaw.

Contents

Each volume is divided into chapter topics. The topics are arranged alphabetically. The first volume, for example, is “Ch. 1 Abandoned, Lost and Unclaimed Property to Ch. 21 Alteration of Instruments”. At the beginning of each volume there is a table of contents that lists the chapters contained in that volume and the subparts of each chapter. Each chapter has some of the same forms, but they will also vary depending on the available information. Some of the common forms are: Checklist, Petition, Allegation, Answer, Response, Order, Damages, Supplemental Petition, Motions, Jury Instructions, and Affidavit. Each chapter has a section titled “Introductory Comments”. These comments provide a very brief background on the area of law. The comments also include links to other sources.

Since it is a West publication, there is a reference to the West Key Number Digest as well. Another nice feature about TFPP is that the forms are annotated. After each form there is a section titled “Notes to Form”. This section gives specific information necessary to fill out the form as well as tips for those using the form in actual practice.

Volumes

The volume numbers are listed below with the corresponding topic covered in that volume:

Volume 1: Abandoned, Lost and Unclaimed Property to Alteration of Instruments

Volume 1A: Amicus Curiae to Associations and Clubs

Volume 2: Attachment and Garnishment to Aviation

Volume 3: Bailments and Personal Property Leases to Carriers

Volume 4: Cemeteries to Contribution

Volume 4A: Conversion to Criminal Procedure

Volume 5: Crops to Decedents’ Estates

Volume 5A: Declaratory Relief to Depositions and Discovery

Volume 5B: Depositions and Discovery to Dismissal, Discontinuance, Nonsuit

Volume 6: Divorce and Separation to Elections

Volume 6A: Electricity, Gas and Steam to Estoppel, Waiver, and Ratification

Volume 7: Evidence and Witnesses to Fraud and Deceit

Volume 7A: Frauds, Statute of to Habeas Corpus

Volume 7B: Highways and Streets to Insurance

Volume 8: Interest and Usury to Laches and Stale Demands

Volume 8A: Landlord and Tenant to Master and Servant

Volume 9: Mechanics’ Liens to Occupations and Trades

Volume 9A: Oil and Gas to Physicians, Surgeons, and Medical Personnel

Volume 10: Pipelines to Premises Liability

Volume 10A: Pretrial Conference and Procedure to Prohibition

Volume 11: Property Damage Allegations to References

Volume 11A: Religious Organizations to Ships and Shipping

Volume 12: Specific Performance to Trial

Volume 12A: Trusts to Wills

Volume 12B: Work, Labor and Materials to Zoning and Planning

Index, Table of Laws and Rules, Tables of Cases

How to Use

Here’s a hypothetical example of how to use TFPP.

You are a new associate at a local law firm. This morning, one of the partners assigned a new case to you. The facts of the case are as follows: Jam Fredrickson is a collector of baseball cards. Rich Smith is an expert in the procurement of rare items, no matter the legality of acquiring them. Jam tells Rich that if he can acquire five, mint condition 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings cards that he will pay him $1 billion dollars. In order to ensure that Rich does not take the money and run away to Aruba, Jam wants to put the money in escrow with an agent until Rich produces the cards. Rich tells Jam that he knows just the man for the job—Yuri, a former associate of Rich’s. You need more information on what escrow is, how to establish and escrow account, and what rules govern the agent.

1. First, using the index, locate the chapter containing information on Escrow. It is located in Volume 6A, chapter 109.
2. Now that you have the correct chapter, it is important to look at the chapter outline and see which sections will be the most helpful. The outline tells you that there are several forms related to escrow as well as a pleading guide.
3. Let’s start by getting a quick overview of what escrow is. To do this, you would look at the Introductory Comments §109:1. Escrow is “the deposit of a written instrument or thing of value with a third person, the escrow agent, with clear and definite instructions to deliver it to another party when a stated condition is performed or a specified event occurs.” TFPP §109:1.
4. Now that you know what escrow is, you want to find out what requirements there are for an escrow account and/or agent. §109:2 gives these requirements. This section tells you that the agreement must be clear and definite but does not have to be in writing. The agreement must also be irrevocable. You aren’t sure where these requirements came from, so you’d like some background information. The footnote references tell you that Johnson v. Freytag and Cutbirth v. Snowden defined these requirements for an escrow agreement. You can read these two cases if you need further information.
5. Being the highly prepared associate that you are, and knowing of Rich and Yuri’s shady past, you want to be prepared in the event that he attempts to trick Jam and make off with the money. Is there a form that would assist you in this situation? Look at §109:5. This form is a plaintiff’s petition for relief based on the unauthorized delivery of funds by an agent. If Rich and Yuri are in cahoots, this could come in handy. §109:14 might also be useful if Yuri decides to make a quick buck and run off to Aruba on his own.
6. All of this information seems to be right on track, but you are still uncertain that you’ve got enough details to be working with such shady characters and large sums of money. Are there any other form books that you could look at for assistance? Yes! American Jurisprudence Legal Forms Second Edition has a section on Escrow, as does Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms.
7. Finally, if you wanted related information about topics similar to escrow, what are some keywords you could look for? Agency, Assignments, Brokers, Contracts, Deeds, and Secured Transactions would all be related topics for further research.