USA – TEXAS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Darryl Anderson, Carlos Rainer, Geraldine Young and Eliot Turner, Norton Rose Fulbright
successfully convinced the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas to vacate an FTC rule that would have voided non-compete agreements for the significant majority of American workers. Similarly, in February of 2026, the US Chamber of Commerce obtained an order from a federal district court in the Eastern District of Texas that vacated the revised HSR pre-merger filing requirements. The Impact of the New Texas Business Court on Antitrust Litigation in Texas Another key component of the recent Texas legisla - tion is the establishment of the Texas Business Court and corresponding specialised appellate court – the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. This development is also expected to increase private antitrust litigation in Texas courts. The Texas Business Court opened its doors in September 2024. This new development may impact antitrust litigation in Texas in at least two ways. First, instead of less specialised state courts, the Texas Business Court may preside over antitrust claims within its jurisdiction. Second, the business- focused court may, as intended, have a broader effect of attracting more business litigation, including anti - trust litigation, in both Texas federal and state courts. As relevant background, the Texas Business Court: • was created as a specialised court to hear and decide complex business disputes and related commercial litigation, with the goal of enhancing predictability and efficiency for both sides; • is composed of judges: (a) appointed by the Texas Governor and con - firmed by the Texas Senate, for two-year terms with unlimited reappointments; (b) with at least ten years of judicial or business law experience; and (c) supported by resources, such as staff attor - neys, technical experts and consultants; • is composed of eleven geographical divisions, with two judges assigned to each division and with five of those divisions currently operational, covering counties surrounding the major Texas cities of Dal - las, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Houston, for a total of ten current judges; and • can preside over suits originally filed in the court, removed to the court from other state courts, or
transferred on a court’s own initiative, if jurisdic - tional and venue requirements are met. Appeals from the Texas Business Court will go directly to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. That state appel - late court has exclusive jurisdiction over not only business court appeals but also actions by or against state entities and employees and actions challeng - ing the constitutionality of a statute or rule when the Texas Attorney General is a party, subject to certain exclusions. Currently, three justices sit on the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. The Texas Business Court’s jurisdiction is limited by statute and concurrent with other civil courts in Texas. The Business Court’s jurisdiction is delineated into several categories based on the nature of the suit, as indicated by the following. • The Business Court has jurisdiction over certain business disputes, such as derivative, corporate governance and securities disputes, if the amount in controversy exceeds USD5 million, unless a party is a publicly traded company (in which case there is no dollar requirement). • The Business Court also has jurisdiction over com - mercial disputes where the amount in controversy exceeds USD10 million and where the dispute arises out of a: (a) transaction with consideration or non-bank loan of at least USD10 million; (b) non-insurance contract or transaction where the parties agreed to Business Court jurisdic - tion; or (c) an alleged violation of the Texas Finance or Business & Commerce Code brought by or on behalf of an organisation, subject to excep - tions. The Texas antitrust statute, known as the Texas Free Enterprise and Antitrust Act, is codified in Chapter 15 of the Texas Business & Commerce Code. While Texas law provides Business Court jurisdiction over Busi - ness & Commerce Code violations exceeding USD10 million in controversy, it also qualifies that provision. The same statute provides that, unless a claim falls within its “supplemental jurisdiction”, the Business Court does not have jurisdiction over a claim “arising
273 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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