Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 420
the applicable sections of the Penal Code as a defense to the civil
claims. If the judge or jury agrees that you acted in self-defense, or
properly used force to defend others or property, the plaintiff will
be barred from recovery. See Chapters 7 through 10.
D. Statute of limitations for civil claims
The statute of limitations is a doctrine in Texas (and almost every
other jurisdiction) that requires civil claims to be brought within a
certain period of time after the incident. If the claim is not brought
within the statute of limitations period, it is barred. There are a
number of issues relating to when the statute of limitations starts to
run in many cases, but for the most part, limitations will start to run
immediately after a shooting incident. The statute of limitations can
vary from claim to claim; most, however, are between one and four
years. In Texas, the limitations period most likely to apply to gun
cases is going to be two years. Assault, negligence, wrongful death,
and false imprisonment claims all provide two-year limitations
periods. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003.
What does this mean for gun owners? If you use your gun, the
plaintiff must bring a civil suit against you within two years of the
incident in almost all cases or else the claim will be barred.
E. Superseding or intervening criminal conduct
Texas law recognizes a doctrine that absolves someone from
responsibility for conduct that might otherwise be a tort (e.g.,
negligence) if a criminal act breaks the causal connection between
the tort and the injury. Generally, a third party’s criminal conduct
is a superseding cause which relieves the negligent actor from
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