Forcible Detainer Action Limited Only To Question of Right of Possession

In this forcible detainer action, the defendant disputed the validity of the foreclosure sale in light of an automatic bankruptcy stay that had been issued. The Court noted, however, that under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 746, the only issue that may be adjudicated in a forcible detainer action is the right to actual possession.  Accordingly, because the validity of of the foreclosure sale in light of a bankruptcy stay goes to the merits of the title, the Court held that this issue may not be raised in a forcible detainer action and rejected the defendant’s argument.

Stonebreaker v. FNMA