In a county versus county venue dispute, Husband filed in County A in Texas and, one month later, Wife filed in County B in Texas. When cases involving the same subject matter are filed in different counties, the first filed suit has dominant jurisdiction. Normally, the second court would abate in favor of the first-filed proceeding. However, this can be waived based on the conduct of the parties. Even if a party files a plea in abatement in County B, but he continues to participate in the litigation in County B, even to the point of reaching a settlement agreement and consenting to final judgment, he cannot then later challenge County B’s subordinate jurisdiction and seek to return to County A. By his conduct, he has waived his complaint seeking abatement.
Bonacci v. Bonacci, __SW3d__, No. 08-11-00255-CV, 2013 WL 6835285 (Tex. App.—El Paso, 2013, no. pet. h.) (12/27/2013).
