Relating to the recovery of fees, court costs, and expenses in family law proceedings.

Contracts

• Payroll Vendor Agreements: You must review indemnification clauses with third-party payroll processors. If a vendor fails to process a withholding order (Sections 8.206/158.206), your business is liable for the plaintiff's "expenses." Ensure your contract allows you to pass these specific litigation costs back to the vendor.
• State Procurement Bids: Update internal bid review processes. Under Section 231.006, submitting a false certification regarding child support delinquency now triggers liability for the state's "expenses" and the full administrative cost of rebidding the contract.

Hiring/Training

• HR Termination Protocols: Train HR staff on the heightened risk of terminating employees with active withholding orders. Wrongful termination suits under Family Code 158.209 now carry the penalty of paying the former employee's investigative and litigation "expenses." Documentation for termination must be robust to defeat retaliation claims.
• Payroll Processing: Implement a "zero-error" policy for spousal maintenance and child support garnishments. The cost of a clerical error now includes the opposing counsel's administrative expenses to correct it.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Litigation Accounting: If your company is a third party in a family law suit (e.g., responding to a subpoena), you are entitled to recover your own "expenses" (Section 106.002). Instruct legal counsel to separately code non-fee costs (data hosting, courier, travel) to ensure full reimbursement.

Fees & Costs

• Insurance Review: Review General Liability (GL) and Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies. Confirm that the definition of "loss" includes "litigation expenses" awarded to a plaintiff, as this is now a distinct statutory category separate from "defense costs" or "damages."
• Hospitality Liability: For hotels and inns, the statutory cap on damages for willful/malicious conduct ($25,000) remains, but the ancillary financial liability is now uncapped regarding "expenses."