An aggrieved person may seek payment from a trust account after meeting listed judgment and notice conditions; some cases bar filing until all defendants are handled, and missing the hearing deadline waives recovery.
Sec. 1101.606. CLAIM FOR PAYMENT FROM TRUST ACCOUNT. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (c-1), an aggrieved person who obtains a court judgment against a license or certificate holder for an act described by Section 1101.602 may, after final judgment is entered, execution returned nulla bona, and a judgment lien perfected, file a verified claim in the court that entered the judgment. (b) After the 20th day after the date the aggrieved person gives written notice of the claim to the commission and judgment debtor, the person may apply to the court that entered the judgment for an order for payment from the trust account of the amount unpaid on the judgment. The aggrieved person and the commission may attempt to reach a settlement of the claim before setting a hearing before the court. If the aggrieved person does not schedule a hearing before the first anniversary of the date the application was filed, recovery is waived. (c) If an aggrieved person is precluded by action of a bankruptcy court from executing a judgment or perfecting a judgment lien as required by Subsection (a), the person shall verify to the commission that the person has made a good faith effort to protect the judgment from being discharged in bankruptcy. (c-1) If the judgment obtained against the license holder includes multiple defendants who are jointly and severally liable or the judgment against the license holder was severed from a suit with multiple defendants, the aggrieved person may not file a verified claim in the court that entered the judgment until the aggrieved person has obtained a judgment against all defendants and received payment from or obtained a writ of execution returned nulla bona for all defendants. (d) The commission by rule may prescribe the actions necessary for an aggrieved person to demonstrate that the person has made a good faith effort under Subsection (c) to protect a judgment from being discharged in bankruptcy. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1421, Sec. 2, eff. June 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 23 (S.B. 862), Sec. 5, eff. May 12, 2009. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1158 (S.B. 699), Sec. 63, eff. January 1, 2016.