Judge Stacy Sharp
Delfino Ornelas, III, Individually; Delfino Ornelas, III, Derivatively on Behalf of I Am Trucking, LLC; Delfino Ornelas, III Derivatively on Behalf of Veracity Oilfield Services, LLC v. Erasmo Herrera (No. 25-BC04B-0001; 2025 Tex. Bus. 51; December 18, 2025) arose from a dispute over the Business Court’s jurisdiction. The parties filed a Joint Advisory on Early Legal Issues proposing to legal issues for early resolution: whether recent resolutions with other defendants affected the court’s jurisdiction over the remaininbg claims, and whether Herrera owed fiduciary duties to I Am Trucking, LLC or Veracity Oilfield Services, LLC.
In an opinion by Judge Sharp, the court concluded that it had jurisdiction over what was left of the case after settlements. “In determining the jurisdictional amount in controversy,” the court observed, “‘the plaintiff’s pleadings are determinative unless defendant alleges that the amount was pleaded merely as a sham for the purpose of wrongfully obtaining jurisdiction, or the defendant can readily establish that the amount in controversy is insufficient[.]’” (citations omitted) Here Plaintiffs sued five defendants and pleaded over $5 million in damages, meeting the jurisdictional threshold established by § 25A.004(b), Government Code. They subequently settled with four of them, leaving Herrera in the case, yet in their amended pleading reiterated that the amount in controversy exceeded the threshold. At the hearing on the Joint Advisory, Plaintiffs conceded that although some of their damage models might be too high, they still alleged more than $5 million in damages. Regardless of what discovery ultimately showed in terms of damages, however, Plaintiffs’ original petition set the bar. The court thus acquired jurisdiction over all joined parties’ claims from the outset.
As to the fiduciary duty issue, the court could not resolve it because the parties’ had yet to present evidence regarding the existence of Herrera’s agency or employment with I Am Trucking or Veracity. The court set a pretrial hearing for March 3 and a jury trial for March 30 in Bexar County.
