Texas Business Court Decision – May 12, 2026
No. 25-BC04A-0015 Pradera SFR, LLC v. American Housing Ventures, LLC (Fourth Division, Judge Barnard)
Jurisdiction.
Background. Pradera signed a Development Agreement with American Housing Ventures (AHV) to develop a 250-home project near San Antonio; AHV was the project manager and agreed to indemnify Pradera for any losses resulting from its defaults, including violation of federal copyright law. During the development, AHV approached KFA, an architectural firm, for design work; while AHV eventually hired a different architect, KFG alleged in a separate suit against Pradera and AHC that AHV had used its plans and marketing materials in violation of KFG’s copyright. The lawsuit was settled, with the amount of KFG’s recovery being limited to the value of AHV’s insurance policy on the project. Pradera contended that it retained its indemnity rights against AHV, and after AHV’s insurer refused the claim, brought suit in federal court to enforce them and recover more than $500,000 in fees and costs incurred in the KFG litigation; the federal court dismissed the case without prejudice, declining to assert jurisdiction over the state-law indemnification claims. Pradera then brought this action in the Business Court, alleging claims for fraud because AHV knew or should have know that its insurance policy did not cover claims for contractual indemnity and should have disclosed that fact during the settlement negotiations with KFG. After suit was filed, AHC filed a plea to jurisdiction, contending the amount in controversy was below the $5 million threshold set in 25A.004(d) of the Texas Government Code.
Held: Pradera’s pleaded damages – including attorneys’ fees from the copyright litigation and the federal court proceeding, diminished project value and alleged coverage gaps – exceeded $5 million, and AHV has not shown the pleading is a sham. AHV’s argument about the policy limits goes to the scope and enforceability of the settlement agreement and not whether Pradera has pled damages sufficient to invoke the Business Court’s jurisdiction.