Chapter 10-4 Necessity of Pleading Special Damages

• Jurisdiction: United States

10-4 Necessity of Pleading Special Damages

Special damages proximately result from the defendant's conduct but are not of such a usual nature that their occurrence would be routinely expected; instead, their occurrence would normally vary with the circumstances of an individual case.²¹ Because the damages are not routinely incurred, the pleading must provide fair notice of the special damages re required by Tex. R. Civ. P. 56.

If plaintiff fails to properly plead an item of special damages, the defendant must object when placed on notice of the plaintiff's intent to seek recovery for the unpleaded special damages in order to avoid waiving the error.²²

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Notes:

^[21] Sherrod v. Bailey, 580 S.W.2d 24, 28 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1979, writ red'd n.r.e.).

^[22] Italian Cowboy Partners, Ltd. v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 341 S.W.3d 323, 345 (Tex. 2011), citing Tex...