Opinion ID: 2786776
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Provision on Governing Law

Text: The estate argues that JP Morgan Chase breached paragraph 16 of the deed of trust. That paragraph provides: 16. Governing Law; Severability; Rules of Construction. This Security Instrument shall be governed by federal law and the law of the jurisdiction in which the Property is located. All rights and obligations contained in this Security Instrument are subject to any requirements and limitations of Applicable Law. Applicable Law might explicitly or implicitly allow the parties to agree by contract or it might be silent, but such silence shall not be construed as a prohibition against agreement by contract. In the event that any provision or clause of this Security Instrument or the Note conflicts with Applicable Law, such conflict shall not affect other provisions of this Security Instrument or the Note which can be given effect without the conflicting provision . . . . In the complaint, the estate alleged that “[b]ecause paragraph 16 of the deed of trust requires that the instrument comply with federal and state law, any violations of state law, including the Texas Property Code, and federal law, are also breaches of the Deed of Trust contract.” The district court dismissed this claim, explaining that paragraph 16 “merely sets forth the law that governs the parties’ deed of trust” and does not, as the estate asserts, make all violations of state or federal law breaches of contract. Though this court has not addressed such a claim, it is clear that paragraph 16 identifies the law that governs the parties’ agreement but does not provide that violation of any such law is a breach of contract. Regardless, the estate has not identified which laws were violated or how it sustained damages. Both are necessary elements of a breach of contract claim. See Doss, 210 S.W.3d at 713.