Citation and Notice

The terms “Notice” and “Citation” are used quite frequently in legal proceedings. Often people use the terms interchangeably. What exactly is a “Notice” or a “Citation?”

In basic terms, a “Notice” is what is given, verbally or written, to inform parties of the legal proceedings in a case. Our judicial system makes efforts to be fair. Providing notice to parties prevents someone from sneaking into court to sue another person without ever formally alerting the person of the lawsuit.

A “Citation” is a notice for a party to take an action. Thus, a “notice” informs, but a “citation” compels a person to do something. Most commonly the required action is to appear in court for a particular purpose.

In Texas, a judgment cannot be rendered without proof that parties received proper notice of the lawsuit and had enough time to respond. A Petitioner seeking a judgment cannot just tell the Defendant that there is a lawsuit on file with the court. There are specific procedures to demonstrate that the defendant received adequate notice.

The contents of notices and citations are driven by the type of lawsuit (ex., insurance suit, personal injury, divorce, etc.). Each governing Texas Code may provide directives for the notices and citation. Otherwise, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure prevails. They can be found at http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/rules/trcphome.asp.