Counteraffidavit Not Needed

The Civil Practice and Remedies Code has provisions that can streamline proof of the reasonableness and necessity of various professional fees. The Fifth Court recently rejected the “argument that an opposing party’s ability to challenge reasonableness or necessity at trial turns on whether it attempted to serve a proper counteraffidavit.”

Acknowleding that in earlier cases, “the defendants … had attempted a counteraffidavit, we conclude that these opinions did not hinge on that fact. Rather, these opinions announced principles that apply even when no counteraffidavit is filed.” And in the leading supreme court case of Allstate, the supreme court “explained that section 18.001 is a ‘purely procedural’ statute that must not be turned into ‘a death penalty on the issue of past medical expenses.'” In re State Farm, No. 05-25-00498-CV (July 30, 2025).