Texas Supreme Court Holds That Plaintiffs Cannot Artfully Plead Around Statutes Of Limitations In Professional Negligence Suits
Client Alert | February 25, 2025
Pitts v. Rivas, No. 23-0427 – Decided February 21, 2025
On Friday, a unanimous Texas Supreme Court adopted the anti-fracturing rule, confirming that plaintiffs can’t use artful pleading—for example, recasting professional negligence claims as fraud or breach of fiduciary duty—to gain a litigation advantage.
“Under the anti-fracturing rule, if the crux or gravamen of the plaintiff’s claim is a complaint about the quality of professional services provided by the defendant, then the claim will be treated as one for professional negligence even if the petition also attempts to repackage the allegations under the banner of additional claims.”
Chief Justice Blacklock, writing for the Court
Background:
A home builder and real estate developer sued his accountants, alleging they improperly prepared his financial statements. He asserted claims for professional negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
The accountants argued that the fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims were barred by the anti-fracturing rule, which prevents plaintiffs from pleading around a professional negligence claim for some litigation advantage—here, to avoid the statute of limitations. The trial court granted summary judgment, but the court of appeals reversed, finding that the fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims survived because they alleged additional misconduct and acts beyond the scope of the parties’ written agreements.
Issue:
Does the anti-fracturing rule bar plaintiffs from relabeling their professional negligence claims to gain a litigation advantage, even if the professional services at issue are outside the scope of a written contract?
Court’s Holding:
Yes. The anti-fracturing rule applies whenever the crux of the plaintiff’s allegations sound in professional negligence.
What It Means:
- By formally adopting the anti-fracturing rule—which Texas courts of appeals have applied for decades—the Court made clear that parties can’t use artful pleading to evade the procedural and substantive rules that would otherwise apply to their claims. Courts should look beyond immaterial or formal distinctions between the claims pursued and a professional negligence claim to determine whether the conduct alleged and supporting evidence equate to professional negligence.
- The Court explained that the anti-fracturing rule “ensure[s] that professional malpractice allegations are litigated under the law applicable to professional malpractice claims.”
- Friday’s decision fits within with the Court’s broader jurisprudence, which consistently refuses to permit artful pleading to defeat substantive or procedural rules. It should make it easier for defendants to winnow artfully pleaded claims earlier in litigation.
- The Court held that the plaintiff had not met the high bar for showing that an informal fiduciary relationship—a fiduciary duty that arises from “personal relationships of special trust and confidence” rather than a defined, legally recognized fiduciary role—existed between him and the accountants. A four-Justice concurrence (Justice Huddle, joined by Justices Lehrmann, Bland, and Young) went further, arguing that the doctrine should be discarded entirely. The remaining Justices expressed no view on this question.
The Court’s opinion is available here.
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This alert was prepared by Texas associates Elizabeth Kiernan, Stephen Hammer, and Catherine Frappier.
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