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Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.42

WAIVERS: PUBLIC POLICY

Known as the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act

The act spans §§ 17–17 (31 sections).

Applied in 41 court decisions — leading case Jack B. Anglin Co., Inc. v. Tipps (1992)

Most recently applied in BONDED BUILDERS HOME WARRANTY ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS, INC. D/B/A Bonded Builders Warranty Group, Appellant v. James B. SMITH and Michelle Eyrich, Appellees (April 2016)

Added by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 322, ch. 143, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

1983199020002010201650
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) Any waiver by a consumer of the provisions of this subchapter is contrary to public policy and is unenforceable and void; provided, however, that a waiver is valid and enforceable if:

(1) the waiver is in writing and is signed by the consumer;

(2) the consumer is not in a significantly disparate bargaining position; and

(3) the consumer is represented by legal counsel in seeking or acquiring the goods or services.

(b) A waiver under Subsection (a) is not effective if the consumer's legal counsel was directly or indirectly identified, suggested, or selected by a defendant or an agent of the defendant.

(c) A waiver under this section must be:

(1) conspicuous and in bold-face type of at least 10 points in size;

(2) identified by the heading "Waiver of Consumer Rights," or words of similar meaning; and

(3) in substantially the following form:

(d) The waiver required by Subsection (c) may be modified to waive only specified rights under this subchapter.

(e) The fact that a consumer has signed a waiver under this section is not a defense to an action brought by the attorney general under Section 17.47.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.