I remember getting a call one Friday afternoon. The first rushed words were, “You’ll never believe what happened to your client.” I had been unable to reach my client for weeks. I braced myself for the news and finally asked, “What happened to her?” The voice on the phone replied, “She was killed in a shootout with the police.” I won’t repeat the expletives that rushed through my mind, but my first lucid thoughts were, “What is going to happen now? Will the case be dismissed or continued, and what do I need to do?”
Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 150 to 156 govern these questions, specifically distinguishing the procedures when a plaintiff dies from those to follow when a defendant dies. I will focus on Rules 150, 151, 152 and 154. (In federal court, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25a discusses this issue.)
