E GENERAL 

QF EXAS 

December 1.8, 1964 

Honorable Paul B. Cox Opinion No. C- 366 

County Attorney 

Cherokee County Re: Duty and authority of the 

Rusk, Texas County Court of Cherokee 

County under Sec. 82 of 

the Mental Health Code 

Dear Mr. Cox: under the stated facts. 

Your letter requesting an opinion of this office reads 

In part as follows: 

"I hand you herewith a copy of a letter 

dated November 18, 1964, addressed to the 

writer by the Honorable J. W. Chandler, County 

Judge of Cherokee County, Texas, and its attachment, being a letter dated November 16, 1964, 

from one F. M. Howell. .Your attention is 

directed to Art. 5547-82; subparagraph (a) which 

reads as follows: 

"'Any patient, or his next friend on his 

behalf and with his consent, may petition the 

County Judge of the County in which the patient 

is hospitalized for re-examination and hearing 

to determine whether the patient requires continued hospitalization as a mentally ill person.' 

II 

. . . 

"Now, the specific problem is this, Judge 

Chandler receives letters of the nature of the 

letter of Mr. Howell quite often and it raises 

a question as to whether or not such a letter 

would constitute a petition for re-examination, 

it having been directed to the Judge, but contains no formality of pleading and is not accompanied by a deposit for court costs or a Pauper's 

Affidavit." 

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1., 

Hon. Paul B. Cox, page 2 (c-366 ) 

Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 45, provides: 

"Pleadings in the district and county courts 

shall 

11 t 

Be by petition and answer 

Consist of a statement in plain and 

concise language of the plaintiff's cause of 

action or the defendant's grounds of defense. 

That an allegation be evldentiary or be of 

legal conclusion shall not be ground for objection when fair notice to the opponent is 

given b the allegations as a whole, 

d Contain any other matter which may 

be required by any law or rule authorizing or 

regulating any particular action or defense. 

(d) Be In writing, signed by the party or 

his attorney, and be filed with the clerk. 

"All pleadings shall be so construed as to 

do substantial justice." 

Rule 79 provides: 

'The petition shall state the names of the 

parties and their residences, If known, together 

with the contents prescribed in Rule 47 above." 

Rule 47 provides: 

"A pleading which sets forth a claim for 

relief, whether an original petition, counterclaim, cross claim or third party claim, shall 

contain 

(4 a short statement of the cause of 

action sufficient to give fair notice of the 

claim Involved, and 

(b) a demand for judgment for the relief 

to which the party deems himself entitled. . . .v 

The purpose of Article 5547-82, .set forth above, Is 

to provide a new~and less formal method by which a patient may 

obtain a rehearing and examination. This Article provides a 

protection against unjustified detention of a patient In a mental 

hospital and promotes more frequent examinations of patients. 

Historical Comment on Article 5547-82. As to what constitutes 

a petit%on referred to by Article 5547-82(a), the Texas Rules of 

Civil Procedure, more specifically the particular rules set forth 

above,require a combination of elements in specific as well as 

general terms. Substantial compliance with statutory requirements 

-1736- 
Hon. Paul B. Coxp page 3 (C-366) 

as to the form and requisites of the plaintfffPs lnitfal pleading 

is sufficient, 71 C.J.S, 160, @ 64. Letters contafning those 

requirements set forth specifically and #enerallysby the above 

quoted Rules are within the scope of the petition requirement 

of Article 554~~82( a) D 

As to the petition letter of F. R. Howell, the petftioner'a name, residence, and plea for relief are specifically 

Included. Even though the facts a8 narrated by Mrp. Howell tend 

to raise more than one cause of action, this does not invalidate 

the letter as a petition, Colbert v, Dallas Joint Stock Land 

Bank, 129 Tex. 235$ 102 S.W.28 1031 (1937) M H 11 1 

zrqestloned his eanity status by the word~'"I"~ no,""&~~;, 

The Supreme Court fn Oliver v. Chapman, 15 Tex. 400 

(1855); said at page 4038 

"Though, in our pleadings, specialty and 

certainty'to every reasonable intent, so'as to 

exclude all reasonable doubt as to the real grounds 

on which the party intends to base his rfght, are 

required, yet thfs doctrine has not been oarried 

to such a length as to require the statement of all 

those minute circumstances which are but evidence 

of the right," 

Within the purposes of Article 5547-82(a) as above aet 

forth* Mr. HowellEs letter supplies sufficient basis to afford 

the County Judge reasonable o 

matter placed In issue, 

(Tex.Clv,App., error ref, 

S.W.2d 570 (Tex,Civ,App. 

costs apply only to dlsmf 

143. 

It Is our opinion that letters which contain sufffcfen% 

Information to satisfy requirements of the Rules of Civil Procedure are petitions within Article 5547-82(a); however the determination of whether an fnformal letter fs sufffoient to satisfy 

such requirements Is in the sound discretion of the court. 

SUMMARY 

Letters which contain sufffcfent information 

to satisfy requfremen%s of %he Rules of Civil Procedure are petitfons within Article 5547-82(a); howevep the determfnatfon of whether an informal letter 
Hon. Paul B. Cox, page 4 (C-366) 

Is sufficient to Satisfy such requirements is in 

the sound dlecretion of the court. 

Very truly yours, 

WAQOONER CARR 

Attorney General 

By: 

Gordon Ifouser 

Assistant 

0H:nP:mlch 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Paul Phy 

J, S. Bracewell 

APPROVEDFORTHEATTORNEY OH?ERAL 

BY: Stanton Stone 

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