A person with qualifying damages may bring an action under Subchapter E and may receive the procedures or remedies available there. Courts must defer to certain board findings in judgments under this section, and the $1,000 limitation is adjusted for consumer price index changes.
Sec. 2301.805. RELIEF UNDER OTHER LAW. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, including Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, in addition to the other remedies provided by this subchapter, a person may institute an action under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, or any successor statute to that subchapter, and is entitled to any procedure or remedy under that subchapter, if the person: (1) has sustained damages as a result of a violation of Sections 2301.351-2301.354 or Section 2301.357; or (2) is a franchised dealer who has sustained damages as a result of a violation of: (A) Subchapter J of this chapter; or (B) Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code. (b) In an action brought under this section, and in the interest of judicial economy and efficiency, a judgment entered in the action must give deference to the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the board contained in any final order that is the basis of the action. (c) In an action brought against a license holder under this section, or for any other type of conduct for which an action may be brought under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, the $1,000 limitation contained in Section 17.50(b)(1), Business & Commerce Code, as that provision existed on September 1, 1979, shall be adjusted to reflect a change in the consumer price index after that date. The limitation shall be increased or decreased, as applicable, by an amount equal to 1,000 multiplied by the percentage of increase or decrease in the consumer price index between September 1, 1979, and the time the damages are awarded by final judgment or settlement. In this subsection, "consumer price index" means the National Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers, or a substantially similar successor. A court may take judicial notice of that index. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1421, Sec. 5, eff. June 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 137 (S.B. 529), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2011.